Observations, Reservations, Conversations

Sephora's Open in St. Vital

2012-02-12T11:06:00.006-06:00

There was a lot of excitement when the store first opened in Polo Park. Now one has opened in St. Vital Shopping Centre.

I visted the Jets Gear store in St. Vital. Some say it is small but it looked to be not too bad in size. It was kind interesting to see the variety of products offered. I ended up getting a Jets T-shirt.

It is my hope that there will be a Jets summer sale of products in s similar vein as the Bomber Locker Room Sale at the end of football season.

The one thing that St. Vital does so well is host things like the three times a year Children's Hospital Book Sale. Some criticize the malls fro a variety of ills but this event really brings out so many people from all over the store.

Polo Park has nothing even remotely similar.

The major shakeout in retailing continues. I suspect that Polo Park and St. Vital will continue to compete for top international retailers while places like Kildonan, Garden City snd the like look to more local and national retailers.

I saw signs indicating that Australian jeweller Michael Hill is opening soon in St. Vital as well.

Cabela's To Open in Seasons of Tuxedo

2012-02-09T22:52:00.005-06:00

Cabela's to open full size store in Season's of Tuxedo on the Ikea site.

The store will be the largest in Canada at 72,000 square feet over Edmonton and Saskatoon stores.

To put in perspective for Canadians familiar with East Grand Forks Cabela's, the Winnipeg store will be 12,000 feet larger than that.

More information on the store to come.

However, the will also include bike trails, traffic circles and many trees.

Banana Republic and Ivivva Athletica Opening in Polo Park

2012-02-04T23:06:00.004-06:00

Gap and Old Navy sister store Banana Republic is slated to open in Polo Park in the near future.

Also opening is Lululemon little sister store Ivivva Athletica. I say little sister since it exercise clothes for girls.

The move for Banana Republic was made possible when Nygard didn't renew their lease and Quilts Etc moved near to The Bay. And why would they? It is fairly clear that Nygard with a large property on Kenaston has made the same choice that Tommy Hilfiger did.

And why make that choice? Well, it is expensive being in a mall like Polo Park. They are chasing a young crowd and the customers that Nygard wants are closer to Kenaston one would think.

It is quite the transformation for Polo Park and it will continue as they try to have some stores no one else has in the city. For some retailers, they will find their options better elsewhere.

As for Ivivva Athletica, they are extremely young and female in orientation. Lululemon already had line ups through the mall. I expect this store to be no different.

Is it possible for a mall to too young and too female? I guess we shall see if Harry Rosen and Apple decide to make their move elsewhere.

Official 2012 Honda CR-V Game Day Commercial - "Matthew's Day Off" Exten...

2012-01-30T13:48:00.001-06:00

Ferris Bueller's Honda Day Off

Bits and Bites

2012-01-29T20:49:00.006-06:00

Globosapiens Used Bookstore in their new location on Portage (top picture) and old one on Roblin (bottom picture)

Last year Globosapiens Used Bookstore closed on Roblin Boulevard. Thought it was gone for good but it took over the spot on Portage Avenue once the location of The Chronicle, a hemp shop. Don't know what the quality of the bookstore is but any used book store is good for the city.

Sydney Morning Herald travel column

I had meant to talk about this a couple of time and it was once again mentioned in brief in the Free Press in the last weeks about the Sydney Morning Herald.

Unlike a lot of travel column writers, the Australian writer did not come for the main attractions like museum or a festival. He came for the flavour of the city. That is not something easy to see for someone to find.

How do we define ourselves? What are we proud of? What attractions do we love and want to show off?

Going downtown is not going to wow someone unless they are at The Forks or attending an event like Fringe. The downtown can be desolate place a lot of the time. I can't tell you how many times people have mentioned how empty it seems or how threatening it is.

The place our intrepid travel found to be the real Winnipeg was found in Osborne Village.

As a backpacker, our traveller says this:

So what does Winnipeg have going for it? On the surface, not much. This is a city that counts a difficult intersection (the aptly named Confusion Corner) as a famous landmark, which should tell you all you need to know.

The tourist brochures would point you towards the Manitoba Museum, an undoubtedly interesting collection of artifacts and historical pieces in the town centre. But I'm not much of a museum goer, so that was only going to keep me amused for a couple of hours.

Sooo, no museums for our fellow. Guess Human Rights Museum wouldn't rank high either.

Not all travellers will be be attracted to such things.

So off to Osborne Village our reporter went:

But help was at hand. That friend I once travelled with was still living in Winnipeg and she'd offered to meet up for a drink. We were going to Osborne Village, she said, the artsy, creative side of Winnipeg that I only realized existed after I was told we were meeting there.

And that's when Winnipeg started to make sense.

You know how dodgy, rundown suburbs seem to become cool over time? How places such as Surry Hills in Sydney used to be no-go zones until the artists and musicians moved in and suddenly the people who wanted to be around artists and musicians followed suit?

Winnipeg is on the cusp of that transition. It was never dodgy - just dull. But it was also cheap and the government offered incentives for creative types to move in, so the artists and musicians packed up their vans, tackled Confusion Corner and settled down on the prairies, completely changing the city's landscape.

There have been a few people who mention how the Shopper's Drug Mart will destroy this unique culture. I don't particularly buy it. A displaced video rental store and one restaurant won't do it.

Having said that, a well designed multi-story Shopper's could have addressed a few concerns about diversity, density and design.

Is it too late? Would have loved a Vi-Ann overlooking Osborne from above. And a Movie Village could have found a home in that concept as well.

Anyway, all is not lost. Osborne Village is a work in progress and people continue to want to live there. And that is a good thing.

Our reporter had this to say in the end.

It would probably shock the customs guy as much as the rest of Canada, but the city I found is not just cold - it's cool. Who'd have thought?

Not James Turner but he might know the guy

James Turner has been a reporter in Winnipeg since 2005. He has bounced around from one media group to another but is now at the Winnipeg Sun. Good reporter. Too bad he can't do the headlines as well since the stories are good, the headlines cringeworthy.

There is no truth to the rumour that he is creating the Turnerington Post.

Academy Road, Bejeweled and Frenchway

Some closures of businesses on Academy Road. Bejeweled, across the Street from Starbucks is shut down. Likewise, Frenchway restaurant.

Both have been around for a couple of years.

Charitable Giving

We have seen a number of stories of charitable giving in the last years from gifts to the universities to hospitals to the human rights museum.

The Silverberg's gift to the Jewish Foundation which in turn will gift others such as the Humane Society and Manitoba Branch of the Cancer Society will be lifetime contributions. The $8.5 million will go far.

Similarly, the contribution by Laurie Johnson, a retired pharmacist of $1 million split between Riverview Health Center and Misericordia Health Centre is a remarkable gift.

I contribute monthly to the Winnipeg Foundation. I hope that when I am long gone, my family will be deciding on what things in Winnipeg to fund in perpetuity.

Seasons of Tuxedo

2012-01-16T23:42:00.005-06:00

Seasons of Tuxedo from SPINE on Vimeo.

It has been busy in terms of Kenaston Route 90 and the IKEA/Seasons of Tuxedo site.

Two separate announcements but related in every way. The first is that there is a video showing what Seasons of Tuxedo will look like. Yes, it will be different from a lot of malls: It will have traffic circles. Most likely they will work better than the ones in River Heights.

As far as malls go, it resembles what Polo Park once was which was a mall with open air components. At 1.5-million-square-foot commercial feet, the site will rival Polo Park. The 395,000 square foot IKEA is proceeding well. Lots of construction on site and the opening remains fall of 2012.

Seasons of Tuxedo is slated for 2014 or 2015. If I had to guess the first components might be earlier than that. For example....a movie theatre complex. My view is there might be a race on to capture the new market with three malls forecast in the near future: Seasons of Tuxedo, the new mall west of Assiniboia Downs and the stadium site at Polo Park. Add to that the proposed factory outlet mall with no start up date or location announced for Winnipeg yet.

As this all goes on, Kenaston creaks and cracks. A city committee has targeted houses for purchase to expand to 6 lanes of Route 90 traffic. Keep in mind that there is no budget to purchase, no plan for the St. James bridge, no timetable on the Kapyong Barracks and no end in site to probably the most expensive traffic corridor in the history of city of Winnipeg.

Helllo? IKEA is in a few months. Hundreds of houses are being built every few months in Waverley West.

Danger, Will Robinson!

Think we need a tri-level meeting of government now as this is problem that will go boom. It is already going boom.

Anyways, nice mall by the looks of it. Too bad the best traffic management is probably inside the site itself.

Winnipeg Free Press - Rate Your Journalist Part 1

2012-01-14T14:01:00.013-06:00

The Free Press is the paper of record for the city of Winnipeg.

There are some excellent writers and there are some that tend to make some readers crazy as they read. I will list those writers and editorial staff according to the the paper's own biographies listed. Some I have an opinion about, some I don't know what they do as it might be setting editorial policy in the background. I know many of you will have an opinion about the writers.

Have at it:

First...

Administration

Bob Cox, publisher

He has been a reporter and editor for the Free Press and publisher since 2007. He has had a few columns over the years. They seem random in that they cover a wide variety of topics from the personal to local and national.

Nothing wrong with that per se. I would love a "paper-making" column that explained the nuts and bolts of how the Free Press operated in every capacity. I'd love once a week but every month would be improvement over nothing at all.

A publisher is responsible for a profitable paper but also for carrying out a direction that the owners establish. What is that editorial policy in general? Do we have a mission statement? Is their a political angle? Are the owner's politics known? Is the publisher's?

Who is the publisher responsible for in terms of hiring and firing and why? Can we find out more? It isn't very transparent. And I can imagine the Free Press would be asking those questions of business and government. We need to hear how the publisher handles these crucial issues. Certainly, I'd love to know in a general way how things get decided.

There was a documentary on the New York Times recently. It was enlightening. It would be good for the Free Press to have a regular feature in the paper showing what was behind the curtain.

The opening of the Free Press Cafe downtown was innovative. I have not been there yet but it is a good way to reach out. Would like to see more.

There are some that have criticized the Free Press for not looking more closely at construction of the human rights museum early on. The issue of being a promoter of such projects is being questioned as interfering with analyzing of said projects as they develop. It seems clear at the moment that the museum might be in a spot of trouble. Some people were pointing out for a while that this might be happening.

So what is the view of other people on the publisher? As I've said, I want to know more about what happens at the paper and explanations of why it does what it does and sometimes a more focused look on what it hasn't done well in the past or present.

Margo Goodhand, editor

She has had many firsts in her career. She still posts regular columns of a variety of subjects. She takes credit as well for the News Cafe. The Community News Commons is still not up yet though according to the website. Could be good, no way tell yet.

The site is here.

Some critics have said that the Free Press editor was too quick to jump on criticism from some of its detractors, specifically The Great Canadian Talk Show. Freedom of Information requests have provoked questions.

It seems to me that the Free Press had nothing to fear from pokes at being the paper of record and might have even done well to allow their reporters the ability to respond. Chances are that lines of communication would have shed light on news gathering, reporting and opinion. And all of this might have been done with humour, humility and gentility.

Differences of opinion will exist. That's fine. No need to be defensive.

As with the publisher, I think we need to see more of an explanation of how the news operation works. Regular informed commentary would be huge to that end.

As far as the direction the paper takes, it seems to me that the paper could stand to address the issue of a makeover where each section of the paper might be re-done. Better pictures, graphics and news bulletins would be welcome. I have no idea when certain columns run. Tell me.

I would love to see a finer, sober thinking approach to Sundays. Can't we have the View From The West there?

More guest columns and bloggers, please.

Is a columnist shuffle out of the question? We have seen a few shifts from Ottawa to Manitoba and Arts to City Hall. If a columnist can switch to a new portfolio or take on a certain role for a while, it can be amazing journalism. Some great pet columns came from Bruce Owen.

Would love to see the whole team come aboard for things like elections. It should be a full court press from humour columns, general columns, sports columns, TV and arts columns and business columns. I can't help think that a story about a treehouse could have waited till after the election.

I think I wrote to the editor directly one time about the lack of inclusion of screenwriters in movie reviews. I am happy to say that I notice that the writer or writers are included in reviews. If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage.

So what are people's views on the editor? I want to know more, see more, expect more.

The Free Press is not going down for citizen reporting via tweets. It won't. And with other media struggling or folding and city forums ending or other city media folding like Sandbox, the Free Press will be looked to as a continued paper of record.

I hope it steps up even in light of a lesser local competition in providing news.

to be continued...

Don Percy Back on Winnipeg Radio

2012-01-09T23:34:00.005-06:00

Ever wonder where Stan Kubicek and Don Percy ever went to?

Until the conversion of 1290 to TSN Sports Radio, Don Percy was spinning oldies.

I wondered back then if he would land a job in the multitude of radio stations in the city.

Well, looks like he has found a home at Breeze along with Stan Kubicek.

At 100.7, Breeze is not exactly tearing up the charts. Bringing in Don Percy will get noticed and the newspaper ads certainly indicate they think he has a fan base.

It is hard to keep up with the changing formats of 100.7. It was The Lounge over Christmas, HANK FM before that and Cafe 100.7.

Way back, it was nostalgia radio.

New ownership has come out with a little spirit. The Evanov Group started up Energy 106 to poke an eye at Hot 103. Until very recently, it must have been quite clear that 103 had the top 40 pop hip hop market to itself. Not anymore. Interestingly, it looks like the intention was to call 106, The Jewel before settling on Energy.

Now we are seeing an attempt to move into 102.3 Clear FM's territory for another Evanov property. Breeze has probably got a long way to move past the Rogers owned station but you never know.

The complaints on Winnipeg radio are many. Never has so much been offered in such a limited range. We'll see if anyone breaks from the pack.

It will be interesting to see the new radio ratings and whether TSN Radio is big.

In any event, welcome back to two Winnipeg broadcasters.

List Time - Top Posts of 2011

2012-01-06T09:54:00.003-06:00

I am a little late in getting up lists for 2011. It was quite a busy final weeks to the end of the end and it remains fairly busy.

My top viewed posts generally revolved around commercial enterprises that are opening in the city. Without doubt, the top post by far was on Swiss Chalet. Menards takes up two slots as well as a post I did on black and white police cars. Who knew the cars would be so fascinating.

I have no idea why my top 10 book list from last year continues to get hits each week.

I have two posts that are joke posts on Harper and Martha Stewart which gets hits each week.

The rest of the list is filled with store openings.

I think some of my Charleswood stuff has to limited an audience.

Anyway, on to the list...

Swiss Chalet Returns to Winnipeg
Mar 27, 2011, 24 comments

8,845 Pageviews

Menards - Deliveries to Winnipeg
Dec 6, 2010, 2 comments

2,804 Pageviews

List Time - Top Manitoba Books
Dec 23, 2010

2,565 Pageviews

Menards Coming To Winnipeg - Sort Of
Nov 24, 2010, 2 comments

2,355 Pageviews

Martha Stewart Gets Too Close To Polar Bear
Nov 6, 2010, 2 comments

2,143 Pageviews

Black and White Police Car Models - After Crown Vi...
Nov 24, 2010, 4 comments

1,363 Pageviews

Black and White Police Cars
Jul 5, 2010, 2 comments

1,338 Pageviews

Harper Talks About Pulling Out
Apr 1, 2011

1,317 Pageviews

Coach Store Coming to Winnipeg
May 15, 2011

1,202 Pageviews

Aeropostale Opening in Winnipeg
May 6, 2011

933 Pageviews

Hitler Rant - Loves Winnipeg Jets - Hates Washrooms

2012-01-04T15:52:00.001-06:00

Rogers Closing Video Stores in Winnipeg

2011-12-26T10:46:00.007-06:00

It sucks if you rent videos or games. The choices are becoming limited to small kiosks for videos and nothing really for games.

We keep hearing this is the wave of the future and that it is old technology, etc. However, as I have pointed out a few times, to access this technology, you need a high speed connection to the Internet, computer or electronic device or cable and satellite connection. Not to mention a subscription to a content provider like Netflix. Video on Demand on cable and satellite is still too limited in its offering, is expensive and has no extras.

People may say: So what? I get all my stuff with free downloads. Well, we have seen that those avenues are being blocked more and more. Could be a time soon when we might not be able to access things nearly with the convenience or lack of consequences.

Rogers Video Plus are the latest to announce a series of closings. Four of their stores are being shut down. It is part of a 40% reduction of their stores in Canada.

If you live in certain parts of the city, there are no larger video rental places left at all. It can be a good thing for an independent willing to stick it out but we have even seen the owner of Movie Village looking to sell.

Here are the stores that are closing.

1853 Grant Ave
Winnipeg, MB R3N 1Z2
(204) 488-4969

756 Pembina Hwy
Winnipeg, MB R3M 2M7
(204) 452-1234

823 McLeod Ave
Winnipeg, MB R2G 0Y4
(204) 654-1234

47 Goulet St
Winnipeg, MB R2H 0R5
(204) 237-7496

There was a point made here that if you wait a while, a DVD will be sold for around the same price as a rental. While that might be true of DVDs, it isn't true of games that they can be purchased so soon for so little. The rental places truly made it possible to check out a game and decide if it was worth it.

I know one thing that has happened since most of the video stores have closed around me: I have not watched as many new or older movies.

A Bar Street For Winnipeg?

2011-12-20T10:21:00.006-06:00

Top picture is 456 Main Street today where Fox and Fiddle will be located

Middle picture is Fox and Fiddle on Yonge Street, Toronto

Bottom pic is 456 as the old Bank of Toronto

In the last weeks, we have been inundated with stories of bars and restaurants opening, often in the downtown.

One of the restaurant groups in Toronto that has worked with older buildings is Fox and Fiddle, an Irish pub-style group. They announced recently they going to build on Main Street near Whiskey Dix.

Fox and Fiddle is likely to appeal to those looking for a meal, pre or post sports or theatre events and after work or as a neighbourhood eatery. It is likely to bring a slightly more mature crowd than the nearby Whiskey Dix. And this is good, since there should be a variety of crowds up and down the street if for no other reason than to create excitement but also a civil interaction.

Whiskey Dix has been around a few years, overcoming some violent altercations ending in death in its previous incarnations. At 12,000 feet, it is monster sized and has one of the largest patios in the downtown area.

Violence is the type of stuff can destroy any bar even suburban ones. Security for bars and restaurants is both an internal and external matter. Bars have to enforce no weapons policies and over-serving protocols. Police have to be very vigilant and everyone should be aware of zero tolerance of shenanigans.

However, a lively bar and restaurant quarter can also be a boon for cultural and business affairs. It is not enough to have the Fringe Festival or MTS Centre in an area if there is nothing to do before, in between and after.

The streets of Portage and Main Street used to be lined with offices and retail. We have lost both offices and retail to the suburbs and in its place we have suffered either empty store front or offices or worse, large surface parking lots.

We have seen a scattering of restaurants and bars in the Exchange District and elsewhere but never in a real grouping like they have in Austin, Texas or Ybor City in Tampa.

The addition of Fox and Fiddle on Main might actually attract other similar businesses. At 3,100-square-foot and $750,000, this is a major investment downtown.

And it isn't the only one. The old Chocolate Shop restaurant is being converted into a Mediterranean-style restaurant. That 3,500 square foot location has been a restaurant for years aside from a stint as a cooking school. Arkadash Bistro and Lounge at 268 Portage Ave will be getting around a $300,000 facelift.

Farther down the street, some major players are sniffing around locations near the MTS Centre. More on that in a Portage Avenue update.

We have been seeing some interesting developments over the last several months. Except more private cash to start investing. And time to get some of the large surface lot landholders off their duffs and looking at possibilities.

Shopper's Drug Mart Osborne Village Part Deux

2011-12-15T11:08:00.009-06:00

Shopper's Drug Mart and Vietnamese restaurant Vi-Ann

After the first expansion plan went poorly, Shopper's Drug Mart is putting forward another plan. This time it has found two willing sellers to facilitate growth up Osborne Street.

Already there is neighbourhood resistance. The city's board of adjustment will look at the proposal in a meeting at City Hall on December 21. Expect a lot of concern.

Two things emerge from the genesis of this plan: The first is that Movie Village might not be long for Osborne Village. If the owners are looking to sell and are unsuccessful, it doesn't means that the movie rental shop will stay open.

The neighbourhood has already lost Blockbuster. This would be a major hit for the non-car drivers living in the area.

Now, some people will say no loss...things are going digital anyways but people forget that the seeing movies via TV or computer still requires cable, satellite or high speed Internet connections all of which cost money. Then you have to pay for content. This can end up more costly than a TV, DVD player and a rental.

However, this isn't about video stores. If Movie Village wishes to sell or close, it is their right to do so. However, it would be wrong to assume the store will remain a video store by resisting Shopper's expansion.

If Movie Village does close, chances are something would go into the location. Just not a video store.

The one business is this endeavour that is at the mercy of the property owner's is Vi-Ann. The restaurant doesn't own the building it is in and if it is sold and redeveloped, they might not have options about going somewhere else. This is a sad situation but one we see often repeated with businesses that lease space. Sometimes the owners of the property push you out in favour of other things.

Once again, stopping Shopper's to save Vi-Ann may not work if the owners of the building looks to re-develop on their own.

Both Shopper's and Vi-Ann face out to Osborne Street and have entrances to it. Movie Village has long turned its back on the street and looks on to the more lucrative Safeway behind it.

The street behind Osborne, more of an alley, really has become the choice route for pedestrians. It is a long stretch of street from Shopper's to the Liquor Commission where you don't see the same vitality as you do in the blocks after. With only two businesses having any access to the street, there is very little presence there.

So, what exactly happens if Shopper's gets its wish? Well, we lose two beloved businesses, both of which might be in danger regardless if the proposal is turned down. Will it affect Osborne? Probably no more than what is happening now. In fact, with a good zoning ruling on the proposal, maybe Shopper's can be persuaded to be more street friendly on Osborne. Ditching the frosted glass might help.

If resistance to the Shopper's proposal is about "fighting the man", it is as wrongheaded as resistance to Safeway's expansion in the Village.

Outright resistance to Safeway ignored the fact that the neighbourhood was successful because there was a large grocery right in the area. Some homes were displaced in the area for expansion but Osborne Village's entire history has been marked by development and increasing density. Dogged resistance to change would have left the neighbourhood a low density section of the city. Who knows? Had activists been at the ready long ago, it still might be a barracks.

I am in the middle on this. I am not against Shopper's expanding for the sake of saying no to a large corporation. I am also of a mind that no one should roll over. If Shopper's get the green light, significant consideration needs to be looked at on zoning to make sure Osborne Street is vital. The look of the building is worthy of consideration. Entrances, windows, colours should be appealing.

Perhaps one aspect that might be promoted is: Can floors above the Shopper's be built? Now isn't that a novel idea? A residential component, offices? Wouldn't be rather neat if the floors above a Shopper's contained a restaurant like Vi-Ann? Just saying...

We'll see what happens next week. An open mind will be good. Don't resist, don't roll over, be constructive.

Westport Festival

2011-12-05T18:49:00.006-06:00

Plans and Location for Westport Festival

The Westport Festival is a new development being promoted by Shindico. It seems festival has replaced Centre, Plaza, Court, Common and Village.

I guess the developer thought a retailing concept called The Downs was too sad.

In any event, this development near the Assiniboia Downs is very large. How big? Well, bigger than the lot where Unicity Fashion Square used to be before being converted to a WalMart big box concept in 2000.

The Westport follows that same big box line with two very large box store locations with one unique difference. There is a listing for a large movie theatre complex on the site.

We have already seen that we are losing one discount movie theatre chain with the conversion Cinema City on McGillivray. What could this theatre be? First run movies, second run?

One thing is clear: The people of St. James and Charleswood have been under-served for years in the movie theatre department. The only real theatre in St. James was the King's Theatre and it closed decades ago. And the Polo Park Theatre in the deep dark recesses of the basement of Polo Park Mall was not worthy of the place.

Silver City Polo Park has been serving the west part of the city since it was built in the 1990s.

That is a large section of the city where kids faced a very long bus ride in some case or difficult to impossible access if they lived in Charleswood to any movie theatre. It was one reason that for a very long time, there was a lot of video rental places along Portage Avenue.

The 450 acre Red River Exhibition Park is immediately north of the site. The eight auto dealers of Pointe West Autopark is right next door on an equally large piece of land.

In short order, things are getting busy in this area. It is easy to see the streets serving a mall, Red River Ex and the autopark are not up to snuff. Work will have to be done to avoid a three ring circus there.

So what big stores might be looking at those retail boxes? Well, a good bet is Lowe's. However, could not Target be a possibility? Kohl's would be the next dream store for Winnipeggers but there are others coming like J. Crew, Brooks Brothers and Crate & Barrel.

Only time will tell but fully leased signs are up in a lot of the city malls and some retail street strips.

The other interesting element of the Westport Festival is a hotel. Like a lot of others, Shindico hopes to capitalize on the nearby MTS Iceplex and the need for hotel space for the teams going to tournaments. It is obvious that there seemed to be no need just to serve the Red River Ex and Assiniboia Downs.

There has been a flurry of hotels built in that area after years of nothing.

The stretching out of our infrastructure and the traffic chaos in Headlingley is a debate that should happen as this project starts to take shape. Nevertheless, the increasing fully leased signs all over the city means that if we are ever to get certain stores, they will have to have a place to go.

To that end, the city continues to expand outward. Perhaps city council will continue to try and backfill spaces without some of the NIMBY-ism we have seen in recent weeks.

Kiehl's Opens in Winnipeg

2011-11-28T21:30:00.006-06:00

Kiehl's Opens Wednesday

They only have 135 stores around the world but Kiehl's is an an iconic New York store that has been around since 1851. Each store as motorbike in it and Winnipeg is no different. The bike in the 1000 foot second floor location has a 1969 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide. The store is now a division of L'Oreal.

The store describes itself as an "old apothecary" concept.

Polo Park continues to pursue exclusive retailers to its location. Any local retailers would fare far better in the regional malls or at street level than hope to get into the mall now. In fact, many Canadian retailers will have to look over their shoulders in the next months.

Blockbuster is Dead, Long Live the Local Video Store

2011-11-22T22:14:00.007-06:00

The aftermath of the closure of Blockbuster has been rather swift moving in Winnipeg. Most of the old locations have been grabbed by other retailers, restaurant operators and service industries. This is in stark comparison to the sad state of affairs in the States where so many Blockbusters stand empty.

Snap Fitness has been grabbing up many of the old locations. In the Charleswood Shopping Centre Plaza, Pet Valu has grabbed up the old Blockbuster location leaving their smaller spot in the mall. I think it will fill fast.

Farther up in the north part of the city, one of the Blockbusters is becoming Famous Dave's.

The Portage Avenue location near Grace Hospital remains empty.

Still, within one year, it is likely every empty Blockbuster will have found a new tenant.

But what of video stores in general? Has online crushed the bricks and mortar store?

Well, not quite. Simply put, Netflix does not carry everything and often lacks new stuff. The price maybe good for the service but you still need high speed Internet and delivery devices such as computer, cell phone, tablet or TV.

Netflix has come a long way but the truth is that some areas may never have fast reliable high speed Internet to receive high definition signals.

As for cable and satellite: Their selection of stuff on Video on Demand is limited, the price is high and the means to select what you want to watch is not the best.

So, what has the closure of Blockbuster really meant? Well, according to the Free Press, it has meant additional business for existing video stores. In short, local business has benefited the most.

In essence, it is Back to the Future for the rental business. Prior to the Rogers, Jumbos and Blockbusters, the video rental market was very local. For years, I used to get my videos at Video Zone on Academy Road.

There was a shakeout later in the 1980s and most of the smaller shops closed up shop.

Now the shakeout is the bigger shops.

What has happened is that the over capacity in the market has been removed.

While Netflix and other downloads are having a huge impact, the DVD market is still viable. The very cheap DVDs in Safeway are still not as plentiful or diverse as a well stocked store.

It is doubtful that a major industry player would look to do what Blockbuster did and have a national chain of stores. The margins are too low.

However, until highspeed downloading arrives everywhere and the price and selection are there, most people will not toss their DVD players out.

The market needs local players. A new business opportunity has arrived.

One suggestion to local business out there. Charleswood and Tuxedo need both a hotel, a video store and if we are to believe some seniors, A Sal's.

Winnipeg Internet Pundits

2011-11-05T19:11:00.005-05:00

I guested on the brilliant program Winnipeg Internet Pundits on Wednesday at 5 on UMFM.

Tessa Vanderhart hosts smart bloggers Christian Cassidy from West End Dumplings, James Howard, Slurpees and Murder and Winnipeg Cat, Graham Hnatiuk, Progressive Winnipeg , Robert Galston, Rise and Sprawl and Walter Krawec, One Man Committee on a roundtable discussion of Winnipeg and the blogosphere.

Tessa had provided a very detailed program plan which I apologize for going rambling past. Listening to the program, I think my stuttering is cringeworthy. Thanks to Christian, James and Walter tried keep thing on course and I thank them for that. Note to self: Bring something in writing yourself so you can not just talk off the top of your head.

The topics covered included the future development of Polo Park and surrounding area. I expressed confusion as to how the Asian food grocery was lost and how Western Financial suddenly became part of a mixed use mall.

We talked about retailer we might like or expect to see. First off, I should say I have no problem with local retailers and will seek them out whenever possible but I will say right up front that Polo Park and St. Vital Shopping Centre are poor prospects for a purely local retailer.

The better areas are most certainly along Henderson, Nairn, Main, McPhillips, Portage Avenue, Academy Road, Osborne and Corydon.

We talked about the little music area on Portage near Advance Electronics. I don't know that anyone has ever mentioned how many local music stores call that area home. There is Yamaha and Encore along with a few others.

The Free Press has written about how many wedding dress shops are along Portage near The Bay. What hasn't been mentioned is how many optical places are there too.

Touching upon The Bay downtown, there was a discussion of how the restaurant Oliver and Bonacini was going to be a destination location.

Downtown will only draw people with something exclusive like Mountain Equipment Co-Op or Birks. The old Bay restaurant certainly wasn't going to draw pre-Jets games crowds. Oliver and Bonacini will.

As far as the old stadium site, I expressed doubts about Lowe's locating there but thought Kohl's might be the right store. Truth of the matter though, nothing will be set in stone until the stadium is knocked down.

And many big retailers might be looking at the Seasons of Tuxedo to see how things shake out there before committing to an undefined stadium site.

I criticized the province about squatting on parking lots when they could have out the space on offer as both a parkade and office or residential and help create more energy and density around the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

I hope I didn't sound too negative about things because generally speaking I see positive things happening.

We are still finding our way on things but discussions of where we live, work, shop and play have to be in the forefront of any discussion we have on the city.

Thanks to all on the show who help try identify the city's strengths and where there needs to be improvements. And I will try not to ramble on as I did if I am ever back. I was nervous.

The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers (Sing Along Songs)

2011-11-02T23:41:00.001-05:00

Seemed a good time to be happy after such a sunny Wednesday.

Store and Restaurant Wish List Part 2

2011-10-31T18:12:00.007-05:00

Lowe's Home Improvement Stores

Back in July of last year, I wrote what I heard from some people was their wish list for restaurants and retailers for the city of Winnipeg.

There was as follows:

Restaurants:

Outback (already in Alberta and in Ontario although many closed in that province in 2009)
Hard Rock Cafe (in some Canadian provinces)
Chili's (already in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta)
Rainforest Cafe (already in Ontario)
Ruby Tuesday (already in Ontario)
Sweet Tomatoes

Stores:

Target
Lowe's
Juicy Couture
Crate and Barrel
J Crew
Brooks Brothers

We continue to be the one gap where Lowe's has no location.

However, all is not lost. In the last couple of years we have seen locations open up for Forever 21, Apple, Sephora, Hollister, Aeropostale.

For restaurants, Famous Dave's and Woody's Barbecue are on tap. And TGI Fridays just opened at the airport with Swiss Chalet a week before.

I should point out that no other post I have written has ever come close to matching Swiss Chalet for traffic.

I think we can add a few other retailers to the list we'd like to see:

Kohl's
Menard's
Abercrombie and Fitch
Victoria Secret
Marshals
Wet Seal
Charlotte Russe
DSW

and the one that seems so close to making an announcement:

H&M

To be fair, some of these stores don't operate any locations in Canada but it seems the big question has to be as what is taking Lowe's, Victoria Secret and H&M from coming?

Winnipeg is one of the hotter retail markets for non Canada's retailers to look at.

Part of the problem is no room in any of the big malls. Polo Park is full up. Ditto St. Vital Centre. Some older Canadian retailers have toppled like bowling pins the last few years as interlopers come in.

My guess is if Polo Park had a third floor, they'd fill that sucker in no time flat. However, how likely is that when they would have to build an addition to their parking deck. As for St. Vital, would any approval come with that traffic nightmare that is there now? Even a second deck of parking will not fix bad access off of other streets.

So, Victoria Secret and others wait with their faces pressed up against the glass to see if Polo Park will throw other tenants such as Broadway Florists under the bus to make space for them.

To be sure though, more stores are coming.

Central Canada Comic Con and the Conventions

2011-10-30T12:52:00.005-05:00

Me as Rorschach and my friend Wonder Woman

Halloween weekend and Central Canada Comic Con all on the same weekend. It certainly makes for a costume friendly weekend.

Sad to see the downtown explode in shootings and stabbings once again because there was quite a lot going that was peaceful and fun. It is quite ridiculous when you think about how someone's checklist for Halloween goes like this: Booze, drugs, gun, knife. Check! ready for my night out!

If this is left unchecked, it won't long before some people make a decision about going to a Winnipeg Jets game, convention center show, Concert Hall outing or The Forks based on fearing that they will be killed in their cars.

It will be useless telling people that perception is not the reality.

The reality is that we will surpass our murder rate this year. The reality is that shots are being fired and stabbings are occurring. Everything and I do mean everything should be done to prevent protect the population from this unsettling trend.

Anyway, I won't try to spin this story about how good things are. Suffice to say, I want to go downtown to Jets games, conventions and plays. I am demanding that things be better. And yes I am looking at you Mr. Mayor and you Mr. Premier.

Anyways, back to the convention that I attended...

For those interested in knowing, there were many people from very young to very old at the Winnipeg Convention Centre enjoying Central Canada Comic Con. Since 2006, it has taken off and thousands are in attendance. I suspect it will only get bigger.

There were some stars from TV and film present for autographs and question and answer not the least of which was William Shatner.

Met Kevin Sorbo who seems to be a genuinely good guy.

There were so many excellent costumes and activities that it was enough to keep most people engaged for hours. Wonderful show and you know it will only get better.

****

It is the type of show the Convention Centre has been doing so well over the years. Home show, car show, boat show. Literally thousands of people who generally don't go downtown for a host of reasons go to the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

I am not an expert on the economic activity generated by a Convention Centre. It is probably lots and although the costs are high to build them, I think they are worth it so long as they have the tools to generate some cash for their operations. Parkades can make money after the initial huge start up costs.

It is curious to note that developers are keen on buying parkades. There is high interest in Portage Place's parkade to spur a tower. This isn't a bad idea but CentreVenture should hold off till they get a commitment for both towers to be built on west and east side before selling. They should not think of this as losing a revenue generator in the parkade but getting seed money for further projects.

This weekend's convention had two decks of parking lot filled. It had every food service counter filled to capacity and probably more could have done business.

I think more revenue has to come from services provided from the Convention Center. It should have more restaurants, concessions and the like.

The plan for expansion that I have talked about here includes a hotel. This is a good thing and should be thought about in terms of how it can create further revenue and support for the convention center.

The Convention Center has been isolated too long from the rest of the downtown or Broadway by a selfish province that thought nothing about having huge surface parking lots spread out all around and no plan for doing better. Those parking lots were owned by the province and any thought of developing them till this year was rejected.

Here's hoping that enough vision is in place to try and make what works in the city work better and stop working at cross purposes.

Swiss Chalet Now Open in Winnipeg

2011-10-26T23:49:00.003-05:00

Swiss Chalet opened Wednesday, October 28 at 11 am according to reports.

It has been chaos around there as people who have been waiting for some time for it, head there.

Horizon Insurance

2011-10-24T20:40:00.006-05:00

Almost unnoticed in September was the purchase of Manitoba's largest independent insurance broker Horizon Insurance by Hub International of Chicago.

Horizon has operated in Manitoba for 100 years founded by Louis Leipsic. Today it is has 18 locations and 180 staff. It also owns the locations of Ryan Gateway Insurance. Not a small company by any stretch.

The acquisition by Hub is supposed to help the company in terms of products and expansion. Hub has an interesting background. It was founded in Canada and moved to the States. It has been on a tear with insurance companies being snapped up left and right across North America.

By all accounts, Hub buys an insurance broker and leaves them intact with their head office forming a super regional office. However, B.C.'s biggest independent brokers with nearly 600 employees seems to have lost their own website in favour of Hub's. hardly the local presence you might want to have for such a large company.

The best business for a place is one where there is a strong local head office and independence to charity, sponsorships and have your local execs out in the community.

I hope that is the case with Horizon.

I have seen too many times when a local company is purchased and then they chop or eliminate any head office staff or have thing run by a small supervisory staff who have no authority to do much of anything including things like the United Way.

Horizon still has a website and identifies who runs the company and who they are. Barton in B.C. doesn't list anyone as far as I can tell. Not good.

A Modest Proposal - Movie Theatres

2011-10-23T16:20:00.004-05:00

Cinema City: Before and After

In what is surely a preemptive move from prospective construction of a multi screen movie theatre on the IKEA site, Cineplex Odeon at McGillivray Boulevard and Kenaston Boulevard.

From the beginning, it has been reported that part of the IKEA site was going to movie theatres, possibly from the Empire chain or the expanding AMC chain. This obvious didn't sit well with dominant player Cineplex.

The response from Winnigeggers has been somewhat mixed since a decent second run movie theatre is now going to have first run movies and posh prices.

So now the Cineplex Odeon McGillivary & VIP Cinemas is born.

What will it consist of? It will be eight traditional auditoriums and three VIP screening rooms. Presumably, if Justin Bieber is back in town, he will be able to entertain his girlfriend Selena Gomez at this theatre rather than at Silver City Polo Park.

The Cineplex announcement is part and parcel of $6.5 million of renovation being done to most of the properties the company owns in the city. New concessions, paint, seats and entertainment are all part of what we'll be seeing in the various facilities.

Now...a modest proposal:

Since we are losing a discount movie theatre in the south end of the city, is not time to consider the Empire Theatre location at the Grant Park Mall. It is the only location of the Empire chain in Winnipeg.

If indeed, it is Empire intending on building on the IKEA site, would it not make some sense to possibly convert the Grant Park site to a discount theatre?

I know I'm not the owner or anything but yeesh, we do like our discount theatres in the city and Grant Park might do well by it.

****

Just picked up the Uniter at McNally Robinson. Saw the story on OMC there. Good job!

I'd love it if the Uniter, Manitoban and Projector were available in boxes around the city. Just sayin'

Despite the fact that so much is online, I love the feel of the paper in my hands.

Polo Park North

2011-10-19T17:23:00.012-05:00

Shovels were turned on the old Winnipeg Arena site finally. It is sometimes amazing how long projects take and how much they can change from the original plans.

At first, it looked like the site was going to be the location of an Asian food grocery. Then CJOB moved into the old CKY site. Now, groundbreaking is taking place on what will be a $36 million development.

Downtown's loss is Polo Park's gain as Western Financial combines four offices all on one floor of a mixed use building seen at the top of this page.

I think the big surprise for the 210,000 foot structure is that it includes an underground parking lot for 200 cars. Kind of a shocker in open surface parking crazy Winnipeg. We saw another underground parking lot on Sterling Lyon for the the new medical center which was a bit of a surprise too.

It used to be for a while that underground parking was a primary consideration for a development. Might be making a bit of a comeback.

The three floors of the new complex are supposed to retail on the first, Western Financial on the second and other offices on the third. It seems inevitable that Western Financial is eying the third floor to add to their present 370 employees. This is a good thing and one of the few good things about losing this company from the downtown.

I suspect that the new development will be successful but unimaginative. If lucky, we might get some retail on the first floor that Winnipegger would like to see.

The issues of traffic will continue to be a problem. Empress was never meant to handle the traffic it does.

The stadium redevelopment is likely to bring all things to a head although it is unlikely that a developer will front the money like IKEA has.

Much of the announcement is seen as being a loss for the downtown and within that whole prism of downtown is not safe, etc. To be sure, there is much to be done for the downtown but it won't be just office buildings that do it. Nor will it be just retail. The area needs people.

It would have been great if Western Financial was downtown. However, what will be more important is if more people are brought downtown to live and that they feel safe and secure when they do so.

We have a ways to go to achieve that.

"Michele Bachmann": a BLR Soundbite

2011-10-18T23:23:00.001-05:00

The Hub Campus Bar to Open at University of Manitoba

2011-10-17T22:42:00.005-05:00

The new bar at UMSU

The never ending construction at the University of Manitoba must make for some less than enjoyable student life.

How long does it take to get student services like a pub or restaurant going at UMSU?

It would seem the answer is months.

The Hub will be the new campus bar replacing the old Wise Guys on Campus bar and the UMSU pub before that.

It is Back to the Future for UMSU; a return to pub fare and entertainment. Some of the themed nights will be: “Classic Country” and “Revamped Rez”.

Art from students will be featured as well.

Given that the new Blue Bomber and Bisons stadium next door, you would figure some sports themes. Lots of Jets games could also attract a crowd. No idea if flat screens is on the agenda. If not, UMSU...please consider a sports bar on campus.

One thing the university bar should try to avoid is losing money. The Soma food services idea at the University of Winnipeg has been a moneypit. Tens of thousands has gone down the rabbit hole there.

Campus life should be hard work but also fun. The universities in this town seem to specialize in the exodus: How we get out of here as fast as we can?

Wouldn't it be nice if thousands of students at a variety of things that enhanced their academic and social experience at the university level?

So...here's hoping The Hub is the first of a few things to give the U of M some swagger.

River Heights Firehall

2011-10-16T11:38:00.004-05:00

There probably hasn't been a time in recent Winnipeg history where so many firehalls were being constructed all at the same time. Three are planned for and being constructed. Not much imagination for individual design. They come from the same design as the Sage Creek station.

I wrote already about the decrepit Charleswood station. The River Heights one is getting up there in age as well as a two vehicle unit on Grosvenor Avenue surrounded by a bus loop. I have no idea of how the building is faring other than it has been there for many decades and aside from addition for hanging equipment to dry many, many years ago, it seems to have been left as is.

The new place is on Taylor Avenue as the picture above indicates. Location-wise, it is less than center in River Heights than it was. I am no expert in response times but coverage from St. James could be more of a problem with Route 90 being even more congested.

Everything along Kenaston remains up in the air so long as Kapyong Barracks and the St. James Bridge are not dealt with.

The big question long term will be productivity and effectiveness of a large city fire department. While there is large support for fire service, some halls are less busy than others. Careful consideration will have to be made about how to ensure safe coverage of the city while not having full-time pay for part-time work.

The move to make fire fighters into paramedics is good. However, fire fighters can't transfer patients to hospitals. We have seen in the last year fire crews tied up with paramedic calls while waiting for an ambulance. Not very effective service.

It remains to be seen whether we will have that rational discussion of how many people is just right. It is entirely possible that those who try to talk about it will be shouted down or threatened electorally.

In the meantime, equipment and firehalls need to be updated. There is no doubt many are crumbling.

The city will have to consider how it spends money though and know that any rise in overall staffing in the city has it costs and that might be letting infrastructure like firehalls crumble.

Reg Alcock

2011-10-14T20:42:00.006-05:00

Read Alcock Dead at 63

Back in 1988, I ran for the provincial Liberal party in the Logan constituency. At the same time, another gentleman by the name of Reg Alcock ran under the same banner at the behest of Sharon Carstairs and won. I remember when seeing him that he appeared to be a giant.

He turned to federal politics in 1993. Upon Lloyd Axworthy's departure from Winnipeg-Fort Garry in 1988 for the new riding of Winnipeg South Centre, a rare opportunity existed where some of Axworthy's strong constituency support straddled two ridings.

The Liberals had narrowly lost the riding of Winnipeg South Center in 1988 and the longtime Liberal roots of a large portion of the riding and the continued activism of former Axworthy constituents helped Alcock take the riding from Progressive Conservative Dorothy Dobbie in 1993.

Alcock was a government backbencher for 10 years until Paul Martin appointed him to cabinet.

When I worked in the legislature, Alcock was known for big size and gruff nature. He was without doubt the most technologically savvy politician in Canada for many years. He was also at the forefront of policy development.

Like Lloyd Axworthy, there are few major projects in Manitoba today that he did not have a hand in getting started or seeing reach completion.

His defeat in 2006 in the Winnipeg South riding was probably the first time he seriously misjudged things. The quickly changing riding in terms of growth probably needed far more face time than he gave it. He had been a fixer for so long that he was called upon to shore up support elsewhere in the province.

At the time of his death, Alcock was where a lot of Liberals are after being defeated: teaching at a university. He, like Axworthy, did good work post politics.

Alcock leaves a wife and family behind.

He also leaves a city and province that are a little better than when he found them.

edit: Clarifying Axworthy's departure. October 15, 2011

Woody's Bar-B-Q Coming To Winnipeg

2011-10-11T22:57:00.004-05:00

Woody's Bar-B-Q

The Free Press reported that Woody's Bar-B-Q will be opening at the busy corner of Pembina Highway and Grant Avenue.

It will be a new building constructed on the corner near the hotel. Part of it will house the ever expanding Papa John's. Hello continued Pizza War. The other part will have the Florida-based Woody's.

Woody's Bar-B-Q only recently announced it was coming to Canada and had barely started franchises in British Columbia. Southern barbecue with a decor that looks like a Mississippi barbecue shack will be the order of the day. Unlike the U.S. locations where few have liquor licenses, all Canadian locations will sell liquor. The size of the buildings now is a bit less than what they used to be to keep overhead down. There is more emphasis on take-out. In other words, these restaurants are smaller and will cost less to franchise.

It remains to be seen whether Famous Dave's and Woody's Bar-B-Q will do well in this market. I expect that they will.

At the moment, it is KFC and Chicken Delight on the retreat. In years past it was Bonanza, Ponderosa, Country Kitchen, Mr. Steak and Chi Chi's that died in the competitive market here and across North America.

Now, how about a Rainforest Cafe and a Hard Rock Cafe across from MTS Centre?

Welcome Back Winnipeg Jets

2011-10-07T23:19:00.001-05:00

Go Jets go!

TSN Radio

2011-10-07T20:58:00.004-05:00

Sports Radio 1290 has re-branded itself TSN Radio 1290.

It is quite the change from from CFRW days to home of the Winnipeg Jets.

TSN and Bell Media have put out a lot of money grab radio and TV rights for the Jets and increase local programming dramatically.

Bravo to them and bravo to all local media who have upped their game to cover the Winnipeg Jets.

I complained loudly about the lack of local content at first but this a job well done so far.

Manitoba Election 7 Aftermath - Classless

2011-10-05T17:31:00.004-05:00

Greg Selinger with unprecedented fourth majority victory.

I was wrong.

First things first. It was a classless act of Greg Selinger to go on with a speech before Hugh McFadyen went on. It is obvious the NDP were sick of waiting for a concession speech and decided in a classless manner to go on ahead anyway.

Seems they did not have the backroom guys call and ask what might be going on. Had they done so, they would have heard that McFadyen was contemplating what to say about his stepping down from the leadership.

Classless, graceless and stupid is all I can say.

I predicted a majority NDP government. I didn't see the PCs making gains in Winnipeg except for St. Norbert. The NDP squeaked that one.

I focused on rural Manitoba for the PCs to make any gains. It was an overall terrible outcome for party. Ridings they needed to pick up, they didn't. Even with an incumbent out such as in Swan River, the PCs failed. There was an increase in the popular vote for the PCs but translated into nothing.

So what went wrong? A poor platform that elicited no excitement. Where was the promise of full-time Kindergarten? With that promise alone, the NDP would be on their heels and the Manitoba Teacher's Society would be expressing support. Where was the bold promise of lowering the PST down 1%? Where was the promise of taking over RCMP policing in Manitoba and creating a Manitoba Provincial Police?

Big brass ones. Those are game changers. Put the other side on the defensive.

The NDP used the power of their office to advertise and then they used their political budget to go negative. And often.

If you have some brass one that you show and someone tries to kick them. You kick back and you keep kicking.

Whoever the new Tory leader is, they will have to go on the attack and attack often. Go negative, go personal and do it often. Why? Because it works.

The NDP philosophy sometimes is summed up by classless. It can also be used to describe behaviour. We saw a lot of it in this election.

However, if we base things on outcome, the NDP way worked.

From my own perspective, I really did focus on ideas the parties presented. I was disappointed that there was not more innovation and vision. Only a highly partisan person would say that any of the three presented the best election campaign we have seen in Manitoba history.

There will be two new Opposition leaders in the next election, possibly a third if the Greens have someone new.

It will not all be peaches and cream for the new government. Continued weakness in the U.S. economy will hurt all of Canada. The deficit will not be easy to end. Healthcare costs will continue to rise. And violent crime will continue to scar parts of the province.

Some NDP were suggesting they might win even more seats in the next election. I remember when Frank McKenna won all 57 seats in New Brunswick. Eventually, you wear out your welcome. Or is possible we see NDP governments over and over again like Alberta.

I guess we see in the future.

Manitobans Get Hosed at the Polls

2011-10-05T01:07:00.000-05:00

Manitoba Election 6 Predictions

2011-10-03T16:06:00.005-05:00

In the last election the NDP won a majority government with 36 seats won to the Progressive Conservatives 19 seats. The Liberals came away with 2.

In the terms of change, it was a 1 seat addition for the NDP and a triumph for the NDP. Little did anyone know that Gary Doer would not serve his entire term. Did anyone ask?

There was only one seat gained by the NDP but it affirmed the popularity support that Gary Doer had as leader of the NDP.

The difference for the PCs to unseat the NDP seems too great at this point to make a difference in ending NDP rule.

First, the Liberal predictions.

Jon Gerrard should should hold River Heights. It has been a tough fight but people appreciate his presence in the riding and in the legislature.

Kevin Lamouruex is gone to represent federally. But his people are working hard to gain Roldan Sevillano a seat.

Tyndall Park and River Heights will be gains.

Spirited campaigns by other Liberals will have difficultly breaking through.

Liberals Hold: 2 Seats.

The Progressive Conservatives will hold all their present seats or the proximity to the old boundaries. Hugh McFadyen and the PCs will make some gains.

The NDP made a wash with in St. Norbert. They screwed up the nomination and with no incumbent there, they are vulnerable. Gain for Karen Velthuys. Shocker will be if name recognition puts Marcel Laurendeau of the the Liberals there instead.

I think the NDP are vulnerable in a few places in western Manitoba. Brandon East will go PC. I think with Rosann Wowchuck in place, Swan River will go PC. I think Interlake will go PC.

In a shocker, re-distribution may deliver La Verendrye and the new Dawson Trail to the PCs.

Progressive Conservative Gain: 6 seat

That puts them at 25 in the Legislature.

The NDP drop to 30 in the Legislature.

NDP Lose: 6 seats

House split 30 NDP, 25 PCs and 2 Liberals.

Air Canada and Downtown Winnipeg

2011-10-02T16:56:00.011-05:00

Like OMC, I was driving to work on Kenaston when I heard the CBC Radio One national news report on.

It was rather than disconcerting. I wrote last October about the Radisson Hotel renovations last year and how things needed to be cleaned up around there.

This was the text of Air Canada's message:

Ladies and Gentlemen, In response to several reports indicating questionable safety in the area surrounding the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg a Security Assessment was conducted, in conjunction with the Winnipeg Police Service, by Air Canada Corporate Security. Recent environmental issues have forced approximately 1,000 displaced people from rural Manitoba to numerous hotels in the downtown area. Instances of public intoxication, resulting in several downtown locations being susceptible to crimes of violence and opportunity, have been observed by local Police. Based on concern generated by Crew Reports, Corporate Security, and keeping in mind our obligation, to the extent possible, for ensuring the safety of layover locations, a decision has been made to relocate. Alternative downtown layover options were investigated, and while The Inn at the Forks is considered secure, as a boutique hotel they were not able to accommodate our crews. We considered locations available outside the downtown core and while our preference was the Clarion at Polo Park they, as well, were not interested in accommodating our crews. For now, we have arranged through API, to have Crews layover at the Sandman Hotel and Suites. Information on the Sandman Hotel and Suites is found at www.sandmanhotels.com/en/hotels/manitoba/winnipegairport.php. We will certainly revisit the downtown area once the present situation improves. Authorities anticipate displaced people to be an issue for another 12 months. Best Regards,

Captain Jeff Dennis Manager, Flying Operations

I have a few of the people who have been displaced by flooding as clients. None are too happy about their situation. In some cases, kids are still not back in school. Two governments are responsible for their welfare: the province and the feds. One government is responsible for the outcome of so may displaced people: Winnipeg.

It isn't just First Nations people but that probably comprises the bulk although who can say?

Winnipeg has a drug and alcohol problem. It isn't just solved by throwing Hell's Angels in jail. That goes after the supply. It doesn't do anything about the demand. And that demand is there. Legally or illegally, there are people seeking out substances.

We can go a long way to talk about addiction, prohibition and how legal and illegal all blend together. We need that debate. We should have that debate. One thing is clear though after that debate is that addiction is best worked on as a medical problem and that has been clearly supported by the recent unanimous Supreme Court decision. The Harper Tories sought to shut down a medical response in favour a criminal approach. The court pretty must indicated that pushing addicts underground who seek to minimize the harm they are in or end their addiction must have have protection under the law and province trumps federal government on that matter.

However, back to the Air Canada issue, it is obvious that that the company took a look at the situation. Much like how Western Financial decamped to Polo Park out of fear of downtown, Air Canada is going down the same route. The loss of Western Financial's 350 employees and 72,000 square feet of office is a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

The war of words on CBC's and the Free Press website over Air Canada's decision is ferocious.

One blogger was blunt how bad it is.

So, here is what I've seen in my time living downtown. I am going to focus on the negative first, and then go into the positives, because there are lots of good things about the area.

Most recently, there has been a man hanging around outside my apartment every afternoon, and he bothers everyone that walks by for money. He's called me a bitch for telling him a) no and b) to get off the private property. Really, I'm a bitch because I don't want to give you money and because I don't appreciate you trespassing? Eat a dick.

My apartment has a convenience store attached to it. There's this wonderful Korean family that runs it and they are all super sweet. There's an ATM there I sometimes use. One day I came downstairs to use it and there was a sign on it saying it was broken. As I went to walk away, the owner of the store told me the machine actually worked, he just put the sign up because he was sick of the drug dealers coming in off the street to use it to conduct their business.

Some other fun things about downtown. Hmmmm... well, I live down the street from a Manitoba Housing complex that is full of equal parts welfare bums and unmedicated crazy people, all of whom seem to wander over to the City Place food court to loiter all day. There's one particular crazy man that will try to sell you anything he can steal. One time he tried to sell me a computer monitor for five bucks. A steal of deal, literally. Mostly, these people order a McDonald's coffee and then hang around the mall all day, smelling up the place, bumming smokes and change and in some extreme cases, publicly masturbating.

Last week a friend saw a man just hanging out, bleeding from the head, chilling at the fountain on the main floor. He also told me there were unsupervised little kids throwing pudding cups off the second floor.

It goes on. I recommend reading it.

One writer states:

I've seen Air Canada flight crews take some excessive harrassment from drunks as the crews tried to check in at the Radisson on more than one occasion. And I don't blame them for this move a second, however thoughtless a couple of their comments in their discussion of the issue might have been.

I do blame the people who persist in claiming that the solution is silence or propaganda. We need to stop talking about or excusing these problem, and to start demanding that certain indifferent public officials in both levels of local government earn their pay and fix the problem instead.

Other cities have cleaned up their downtowns and dramatically reduced petty, nuisance and violent crimes in public areas. We can, too, but only if someone gets off their ass.

People are going to feel defensive about the city and they should. The mayor Sam Katz ask lashed out about the decision. Don't know if he is Winnipeg today though. Did he call it in from Phoenix? And Greg Selinger will say that he has done his part. if that is true, what is up with Air Canada and Western Financial? Has the helicopter caught any aggressive drunks and panhandlers? Has there been some dramatic enforcement of provincial liquor laws or at the liquor stores?

We have had city and provincial continuity in leadership and downtown still has the same burning questions. It can't be brushed aside and no one solution will solve the problem. It has to be a full court press day after day after day.

There are some bright spots downtown. The Forks is not considered part of downtown. Imagine that. The greatest strength of The Forks is that people don't consider it to be part of downtown. Broadway and the Exchange District have their strengths too.

However, there are too many wide swaths of vacant land that are only used for parking, too many neglected Manitoba Housing buildings, too many rogue bars, too many people with substance abuse issues or mental illnesses and just too few people living in the area to say: This is my home, it is unacceptable that this is happening!

I think it is safe to say that city and provincial officials need to dig deep and figure out how to solve the problem rather than bluster about how wrong people are to have negative feelings.

Suffice to some people in the suburbs might always have negative feelings about the downtown even if there were no issues related to crime or poverty. Can't say that some who live in the downtown don't have feelings about those in the suburbs as well.

We can't help those feelings if they are related to lifestyle. We can help it if it is related to safety.

Building the downtown is going to have to be step by step so that a community is formed. It has to have a living component that thinks about how to make that area liveable, safe and attractive.

So what to do about the problem of the Radisson Hotel and perhaps the Air Canada building?

Well, first is to boost visible police and security presence. Drug deals can't be happening in the park outside of Air Canada. Panhandlers can't be loitering and aggressive at every bus stop and business entrance.

Larger issue of addiction and poverty will no doubt play a part but safety, security and personal responsibility will have to taken care of.

In the 1980s, the Exchange District around Albert and Arthur Streets was under siege from prostitution. It took a concerted effort and it was driven away. Sad thing though is it never ends, it just moves places.

Still, had the prostitution stayed, it is hard to say whether Red River College and others would have moved into the area.

The point is that if Portage Avenue suddenly became the safe and attractive place that people aspire to, elements of crime and poverty could move elsewhere if the underlying problems remain.

But first things first: address the immediate safety needs around the MTS Centre and hotels. Keep at them until the area takes on a vibrancy like we see at The Forks and perceptions will change because the circumstances have changed.

Next post up will be about something encouraging. The transformation around the University of Winnipeg.

Manitoba Election 5 Liberal versus Liberals

2011-09-30T18:30:00.005-05:00

John Harvard and Anita Neville decided to throw Jon Gerrard under the bus today and endorse NDP candidates in Kirkfield Park and Seine River.

Both have mused in the past about merging the NDP and the Liberals and seem to be hurrying along that process.

It has to be a bitter pill for Gerrard who has presented a good platform, has recruited some excellent candidates and received some credit in the press for trying to show some alternatives.

I have stated I don't believe in the two party option of simple left and right choices.

Jon Gerrard has one thing correct and that is the NDP performance in health is underwhelming and the worst place you can end up having happen to you is to end up in the emergency room. While the NDP clams they have reduced wait times, they don't include waiting to be discharged out of the ambulance.

The thinking behind Neville seems to be "anyone but the conservatives." Sadly, that attitude wasn't held by the NDP who gunned hard for her and the result was...a Conservative.

We need a third or more choices in our Legislature. Some Liberals seems to want to end their party by undermining support for the party. It would appear some Liberals are moving right and some left.

Doesn't leave room for us centrists.

Famous Dave's Restaurant Coming to Winnipeg

2011-09-28T17:47:00.002-05:00

The closets Famous Dave's restaurant to Winnipeg is in Fargo. There are two places to get ribs in Fargo. One is Space Alien's and the other is Famous Dave's.

In short, people who love ribs are are looking for something a bit different than Tony Roma's or some of the other restaurants who serve ribs or riblets such as Applebee's are going to love Famous Dave's.

Tribal Councils Investment Group of Manitoba Ltd, an experienced restaurant operator with the Wok Box, is responsible for the restaurant coming and a number of locations will be opening. The first will be at Lagimodiere Boulevard in the Reenders Square shopping centre.

The list of restaurants from the U.S. that people want to see here just got a little shorter.

The indication is that Famous Dave's is moving to Reenders Drive but where? Could this be the end of Royal Fork which closed in Fargo in 2008 due to competition? We'll see.

I Voted

2011-09-26T16:18:00.004-05:00

Hats off the Elections Manitoba for better ease in voting this year. Certainly this concept can go even further but the ability to vote in a variety of places for numerous days is the way to go. Someone who does not vote, does so knowing that they have a harder time blaming lack of time as the reason.

I am in the Tuxedo riding which takes in a chunk of Charleswood and River Heights. I expect no surprises in this seat as mentioned earlier. There are plenty of signs for Heather Stefanson, I see fewer NDP and Liberal signs than the last election.

I have been wholeheartedly unimpressed by the election thus far. I don't even go as far to say that the two main parties have a hidden agenda. They have no agenda except power and uninspired governance. The PCs and especially the NDP have been nasty.

I did look at all the platforms of the parties and try to see who the local candidates were. There were a number of items in all the platforms that I liked but I was singularly not impressed by the financials of anyone who didn't cost things out.

But who can blame the parties? It isn't like the federal Tories cost their programs even now. They introduce an omnibus crime bill and won't say how it will be paid for.

There have been two polls out in the last day from Viewpoints Research and Environics. One has the NDP up comfortably, the other has the Tories up marginally. The advantage still goes to the NDP.

There is probably one poll left out there in a campaign that had almost nothing to gauge what has so far been an unengaged public.

In the end, I cast my ballot for the Liberals for the best of the platforms but for a candidate who, aside from a resume, I didn't know that well.

In truth, no local candidate here really fleshed out a lot for me to grasp a hold of and make me think local politics mattered.

My centrist leanings and need for an option was fulfilled. It would be terribly tragic if we are left with even less choice after this election and into the next.

Winnipeg Pizza Wars

2011-09-25T10:37:00.004-05:00

Over the last couple of years some of the big pizza chains have moved into the city. Papa Johns in the latest American entry into a very competitive market.

We have seen a retreat of the chicken restaurants lately. KFC had a major contraction in the last two years and Chicken Delight retreated from the prominent corner they inhabited on Corydon Avenue.

Chains such as Pizza Pizza and Little Caesar's have started flooding the market. In my area, Presto Pizza closed rather than compete against Little Caesar's across the block.

We have always been price competitive in Winnipeg on pizza. We have also had some amazing pizza joints over the years such as Santa Lucia as well as some dominant players such as Pizza Hotline and Domino's.

Sushi and pizza seems to dominate new places opening while the chicken places continue their decline. Chinese food restaurants seems to pass from family to family over the years.

It is difficult to see what the margin is on pizza but Winnipeggers love the stuff and there will be knock down, take out brawl in the next year.

Now, if we could get more Indian restaurants and pubs setting up.

Manitoba Election 5

2011-09-23T11:14:00.005-05:00

Fear

And Charleswood

It has been an election campaign about fear. Fear of change. fear of the other guy.

The vitriol in this election comes more from the NDP than pretty much any other quarter. The Blackberry Addicts and Just Damm Stupid are instructive in this matter.

Aside from The Black Rod, the sealed from the outside world, written in a dark basement somewhere with doors bolted and shotgun across the lap, there is not a lot of right of center blow the barns door off blogs.

I am not likely to vote Progressive Conservative in this election. I am in the Tuxedo riding. Some River Heights and Charleswood people get thrown into this mix, me among them.

Not since 1988 when Gary Filmon squeaked out a win against Jasper McKee has the riding been threatened with not having a Progressive Conservative MLA. Given the amount of signs for Heather Stefanson, it is hard to see fall in the riding.

I have nothing against Stefanson personally. She is solid enough and likely a cabinet contender should the Progressive Conservatives get into office. I don't fear her. The fear or secret agenda of the NDP don't wash with me.

However, I have simply have not seen outstanding ideas from the PCs or from her when it comes to the future of the province. The PCs under Hugh McFadyen have come a long way. However, they still have not articulated outstanding ideas that have the wow factor in them. And when they have possible strength in saying they would have better financial management for the future, it is tempered with spending promises and deficit reduction that says "not quite conservative."

The NDP candidate Dashi Zargani is no stranger to the riding. He ran for city council although he played down his NDP roots when questioned about it in that election. He is an improvement from the last candidate the NDP ran who was a student from across town. I had nothing against that candidate in the last election except I could not help wondering why the NDP party, the government in power, could not attract a single local resident to run under the party colours. It isn't like they were the opposition who might not have any local presence and had to send a candidate from outside to ensure a full slate.

This time the NDP have a local candidate in Zargani. Still, I remember from two council forums in the last election, he fell short of wowing the audience with ideas for the riding. I was initially impressed with him as a candidate but he needed polishing then. This time, I have not heard too much of what his ideas for the riding are.

Zargani's problems don't come alone from having very little on his website or campaign literature or door knocking. It comes with the long term party he represents in power. I simply cannot abide the fear that drives it.

The NDP could have said they were proud of what they had done but they were planning on renewal and change in the future. They didn't do this. Instead they have been on the attack like never before. Nasty, venal, bullying with the power they have and brutish in various forums they try to shout down others.

The Green Party has Donald Benham running. He is the son of former River Heights councillor Donald Benham. He is from outside the riding and is waving the flag for a stronger provincial effort on the part of The Greens. More power to the Greens but their stand on bans, restrictions and the like on a wide range of items make them unpalatable to me. Much like Prohibitionists, they don't seem to realize the backlash they would create. Much better for them to concentrate on their strengths of offering ideas that might save more money but wouldn't feel like a bitter pill shoved down one's throat.

The Liberals are running their past party president Linda Minuk as Tuxedo candidate. She is a bilingual lawyer.

Like Zargani, the Liberal candidate doesn't have a lot on her website about what she might do in the area. To be truthful though, hardly any of the candidates do. Minuk appears to be, like everyone else, standing behind the leader.

Jon Gerrard has been around a while. His platform does have difference from the other two parties, sometimes touching on policies the others don't wish to discuss such as Sunday shopping.

There is still time before the election for local candidates to make their presence felt so I won't say more till the date draws close. I really hope to see something either on a website, news article or elsewhere that gives me more information.

Until then, fear rules the day. Anger and nastiness prevail. And people looking to know more about their local candidates struggle. They try to sort through the chafe and for many, they try to care at all.

Charleswood Fire Hall

2011-09-18T15:52:00.005-05:00

The old Charleswood Fire Hall

You take a look at it and a few other old fire halls and realize the buildings do need to be replaced.

At 5000 Roblin Boulevard is where the old Charleswood Firehall is. It looks like a fire trap all by itself. It served as the old municipal building and has been used as a firehall since 1974.

I won't debate the overall numbers of fire fighters in the city. Suffice to say, they should have the best equipment and better buildings as well as regulations that help with fire safety. Still, a review of numbers has to be undertaken at some point. While some stations are very busy, others are in newer, safer areas where fires are rarer and under better control. Were it not more fire fighters becoming paramedics, we might see some stations not as active.

The station will look familiar to some in Winnipeg. It an exact copy of the Sage Creek station.

There are a lot of infrastructure programs throughout the city of Winnipeg. We have had a tax freeze for some time. Unless we are seeing ever increasing infill and higher values on our present land, something will give at some point.

There is no doubt that crumbling obsolete buildings and roads have to be fixed but a close check will be needed on the costs.

Charleswood will benefit at this juncture with a new building. It won't benefit if there is a budget crunch and huge tax increases.

There has been a certain amount of build up in how bad things have gotten for infrastructure. It amounts to a deficit of another kind. And one that will we all eventually pay for.

It is hard to see if we are going to change that type of growing deficit in Winnipeg.

Terra Commons Condos

2011-09-18T13:23:00.004-05:00

Terra Commons Condos

A year ago, the B and M Land Company and Gem Equities had so many legal and regulatory difficulties that it was hard to see if they would emerge from it.

But over the past year, numerous businesses and government agencies have filed more than 30 lawsuits and actions through the courts against his companies or Marquess personally. Creditors have also claimed millions of dollars in unpaid bills and damages, according to documents obtained by CBC News.

In January, McDiarmid Lumber won a judgment against Marquess for more than $1 million.

And Manitoba’s Residential Tenancies Branch hit B and M Land with more than two-dozen orders last summer because the company hadn't been paying its electricity and gas bills.

Tenants at a B and M highrise on Cumberland Avenue showed CBC News orders from January 2010 instructing them to pay their rent directly to the tenancies branch.

The justification is to cover unpaid Manitoba Hydro bills from the company.

Over the last year, B and M owner Andrew Marquess sold some assets to Timbercreek of Ontario including former Sheraton/York Hotel which has since been converted to apartments again.

One of the properties to lie fallow was the 34 apartment units in the 19 building McPhillips Common. Some controversy was afoot as the buildings stood waiting since 2007 vulnerable to vandalism and fire. Now the project has the go ahead.

The buildings were to be the largest geo-thermal project in Manitoba. It will continue to be that but no longer will project be apartments, it will be two and three bedroom condos.

The home ownership market continues to be strong and for many developers, rental units are just not appealing.

The $25 million dollar conversion should be filled sometime next year.

Greg Selinger and NDP Wins Majority Government

2011-09-16T22:57:00.002-05:00

NDP Wins

It seems some have already predicted this. And why not? The Tory campaign has been fairly weak so far in the ridings they will need to win.

It is not that the NDP campaign has been a fireracker. It hasn't. The Conservatives have been trying to push on certain issues but the campaign seems to be about personalities and on the personal.

The scare tactics used by the NDP are what the election is all about. Guess we shouldn't be surprised. The NDP tactic is the same one being used by the Liberals in Ontario and by the Conservatives nationally.

There are too few seats in the province of Manitoba that will never change. They will always be NDP or they will always be Conservative.

All of the change happens in only a few select ridings. It really is hard to see if the dynamic will change dramatically enough to unseat the majority NDP. At most, barring any major revelations, only a few seats might be gains. The voting public does not seem particularly engaged.

Surprisingly, there has not be a poll yet to see how the campaigns have fared. It is not really certain if that might change how people feel but it has been known to happen.

As far as the main issue of the election? It would appear to be Change and Stay the Course. The option of Check Out the Alternative to the Other Two seems not be considered. But then who can tell?

The election seems to be an afterthought on most TV coverage. I haven't listened to the college stations much. CJOB does do stuff in the morning and late at night, sometimes CBC too but they both have national programs that seem to take precedent. The Great Canadian Talk Show has quite a bit and I am listening when I can. Looking forward to more candidates talking about local issues.

There may be some room for local candidates to have an impact but it is so hard to connect to voters at the moment or motivate them.

The Sun has so many national news correspondents that only seems focused on ending the CBC. They don't have the horses to do a provincial campaign. The Free Press has had a number of stories but I am wondering if any information is filtering out. And I can't help think that some of their general interest columnists could get the led out and write some more election stories. I am serious about that. I know the paper is a general interest paper but an election comes every four years and timeliness matters. Where are the stories on health, social services as they pertain to the election now? Some of the columnists have written about them before. Where are the follow-up stories on crime and a focus on today's election. No offence but a tree fort in the yard story might have waited till later on.

So, with no major tectonic shifts, I think the no change in a majority government. Greg Selinger elected and an NDP win.

Manitoba Election 4

2011-09-11T10:59:00.007-05:00

The NDP can't seem to help themselves. They love playing with the Crown corporations. Not content to let the Crowns operate at arm's length with specific goals and parameters, they seek to interfere and expand their control over them.

Witness the overruling on Manitoba Hydro and where the hydro lines will run.

The election promise to keep Hydro and Autopac the cheapest in the country seems like interference of the worst kind.

The Public Utilities Board is the oversight for these organizations for ensuring cost control, safety and the like.

We regulate the rates charged by Manitoba Hydro (electrical utility), Manitoba Public Insurance (auto insurance), some gas or propane utilities (Centra Gas, Stittco, Swan Valley Gas Corp.) and all water and sewer utilities outside Winnipeg.

We license owners and agents under The Cemeteries Act and funeral directors under The Prearranged Funeral Services Act.

We supervise the construction and operation of natural gas and propane pipelines, and make sure that gas and propane are safely distributed to Manitoba consumers.

We register brokers of natural gas under the Public Utilities Board Act.

So, let me clear here so all that fearmongering among the NDP stalwarts doesn't get out of control. I support our Crown corporation save for the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission which I think could stand to have a review. And I say that about the MLCC not much because I believe they are doing a bad job with their stores but because I don't know what case we can make for the stores being run by the government now.

If there is a case, then I can wholeheartedly support it.

It seems we are too afraid to really have the debate on such issues such as Sunday shopping or liquor stores.

Suffice to say though that Greg Selinger's promise to:

...preserve our affordability advantage.

might in fact, undermine the Public Utilities Board.

It also might discourage better energy use and safer driving. How might that happen? Well, the Manitoba government is the owner of the land at Waverley West. It was supposed to be a completely geo-thermal sub-division. That is suddenly off the table.

And why not? If hydro keeps their rates below market value, what incentive is there to actually switch over to other forms of energy?

Ditto, cars. Why switch to transit if the government keeps it below costs?

No matter how you look at it, it amounts to interference and that doesn't make for sound management practices or good leadership.

The NDP knows better but they are trying to lowbrow the election with promises that don't promote better government. It is disappointing.

The election has only had a few promises that actually have sounded good without being cynical.

After 12 years, the NDP fearmongering is getting quite tiresome. It is no substitute for fresh ideas.

Sadly, the Tories have not run a smooth or innovative campaign. Where is the promise of full time Kindergarten? Where is the promise to let retailers set Sunday and holiday shopping hours? Where is the promise to loosen liquor retailing?

Hope things change soon because it is a bit depressing thinking that our province continues to wait for others to do things. How provinces will have full time Kindergarten before us?

The Return of The Great Canadian Talk Show

2011-09-10T15:24:00.006-05:00

Meant to comment on this earlier but The Great Canadian Talk Show has returned in a regular format of podcasts. I am trying to catch up. It is like the return of an old friend.

Lots of interviews happening. I exppect more as the provincial election continues.

I hope a central archive page is coming because it is going to be hard to track down shows soon enough. It is always good to contrast what was said with what was done.

I can't say I have been overly impressed with TV coverage so far. Not a lot on radio either although this morning I heard a lovely summary of the Ontario Election on The House on CBC radio. CJOB has done their regular stuff but noting jumps out yet. The morning and afternoon shows seem to feature a lot of fluff.

Newspaper coverage is really only done by the Free Press. I am surprised The Sun hasn't endorsed the Tories yet. I have to ask: where is the extensive analysis? Reality checks? Guess editorials and columns? The Full court press online?

Still feel there is huge room for improvement.

Community radio, we miss you. Podcasts will have to do.

Trailer For Every Oscar-Winning Movie Ever

2011-09-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

Catchphrase! And every guy just really wants a girl who boldly rejects all social norms, as evidenced by her dyed hair.

Manitoba Election 3

2011-09-07T17:46:00.009-05:00

Trust the Winnipeg Sun to get it wrong.

They want to support the Conservative party in whatever jurisdiction they are in and no amount of crime legislation or policing is enough for them, they will ask for more. And only one political party ever gets it right for them and that is the Conservatives. All the other parties support criminals in their view.

Never does the paper look at crime prevention overall. They want bigger sentences, no pardons, no paroles, more police, more prisons and more spending.

It is highly doubtful they will ever truly ask how effective the police helicopter is compared to how the money might have been spent on officers on the ground. Seeing as how they were the driving force behind the helicopter, we shouldn't be surprised.

In their editorial to support Hugh McFadyen and ankle bracelets, they decide to trash Jon Gerrard and the Liberals as hugging thugs. Gerrard's crime: Wanting to spend money on recreation programs to help prevent kids from being attracted to crime.

What we don’t want to hear is talk about how community club programs are the answer to our crime woes, a preposterous suggestion put forward by the Liberals on Tuesday. There’s nothing wrong with handing out some money for such things, of course, but to suggest it will have much of an effect on curbing crime is a stretch.

So I have to ask the Winnipeg Sun: Do you believe the Winnipeg Police Service hugs thugs? Well, do ya?

The reason I ask is because the Winnipeg Police Service believes in recreation for kids to turn them around.

A report by a Winnipeg Police Service officer and city employee to the Protection and Community Services Committee recommended free access for kids who are involved in the province’s Turnabout Program, which focuses on kids 12 years old or younger who have gotten into trouble or are at risk of doing so.

The program would cost about $60,000 and serve roughly 150 families of four people according to a financial impact statement on the proposal.

Now, the Winnipeg Sun might want to bring back the death penalty and lock up all offenders and by all means that is their right. However, if the Winnipeg Police and Jon Gerrard think it might be cheaper to act *before* someone becomes an offender, does that make them huggers of thugs?

The name calling that the Winnipeg Sun is doing is akin the bullying and tries to make everyone one up each other for most aggressive anti-crime stance.

In the same paper that criticizes Jon Gerrard, the editors tell a letter writer not to resort to vigilante justice.

Sick to the stomach

Re: ‘Welcome to Killerpeg,’ Tom Brodbeck, Sept. 2.

I agree with Tom and every other good citizen of this city who is sick to their stomach about of youth punks getting away with murder. To add insult to injury, we the public don’t even have the right to know who these youths are because it might be unfair to them.

Well, if any friend or family member of mine is ever brutalized by young punks, I won’t be lobbying our government or crying out and begging my MP to change our weak-wiled laws. I won’t for two reasons. One, there are simply too many bleeding heart liberals in this country to see any real significant changes occur, now or ever. Two, I prefer to take out my own garbage.

MARK STYLES

Appreciate your frustration, but vigilante justice isn’t a good idea.

So, is the Winnipeg Sun hugging a thug for not agreeing that the people should deal with crime the old fashioned way? Are they far left commies?

I guess it is too much to ask the Sun to maybe look into something before namecalling. Could have been a good idea to ask the police and police association of what they thought of Gerrard's idea before labelling it. However, that would not be in keeping with editorials that have to be approved by others in terms of how it supports their chosen party.

Hotels at Polo Park

2011-09-06T09:34:00.005-05:00

Ellice site, home of the Fairfield Inn, future site of Hilton too?

Homewood Suites by Hilton plans to build on the same property that a Fairfield Inn by Marriot has gone up. If the location catches some by surprise, it shouldn't. Polo Park hotel construction has exploded and with the mall near 100% full, it is attracting shoppers from far beyond Winnipeg.

The Fairfield Inn itself has 126 rooms. No word on how many rooms this hotel will add. However, in the last little bit, nearly 750 hotel rooms have been added to the city.

The attraction of exclusive shopping, the Jets and expanded conventions and sports tournaments all seem to be driving the growth. That, and the fact that a lot of hotels in the city have simply closed such as the Charleswood or are unsuitable for families or business travellers because of a lack of amenities or a host of other issues.

The area in sore need of hotels? Around the Ikea.

Liberals and NDP Merger

2011-09-04T11:19:00.007-05:00

In short. No.

No, no, no.

I don't support the idea of a merger. The thought that it is needed to defeat the Conservatives sounds all too desperate and opportunistic. It also ignores fundamental differences in the NDP and Liberal party.

The NDP was never just a split off vote from the Liberal party. It evolved all on its own.

A few people point to the Conservatives and their unification as proof of a need for an NDP Liberal joining. However, the difference is that the Reform party received a lot of its support from an en masse transfer of Progressive Conservative support to Reform in 1993.

Despite Reform's origins with Social Credit, Liberal and Progressive Conservatives, it was the PCs and conservative movement that gave the the party its fuel.

In essence, the Reform and later Canadian Alliance party was a split between the Progressive Conservative party.

When The PCs and the Alliance merged, it was really about re-unification. The same cannot be said about the NDP and Liberals. It isn't about reconciliation because both parties evolved separately.

I do not support a merger with the NDP. The party is too different, not centrist enough, has too strong union control over its structure and policy and has too hostile a membership to business.

In the absence of a Liberal party to vote for, I have said that I wouldn't vote at all. I'd run myself or vote a worthwhile independent rather than the Conservative or NDP candidate.

In Manitoba, we have seen what happens when a Liberal party is not represented in the legislature. It is a much more nasty, left/right battle with no room for centrists.

Jack Layton was many things but he really wasn't a centrist. He certainly tapped a populist pulse but clouds loomed on his horizon in regards to Quebec nationalism, constitutional reform, defence and the economy.

The NDP party holds some ideas in those area that differ from what a lot of Canadians believe in. However, they were able to paper over a lot of that with a populist message. It is tougher to stay populist in hard times or when decisions make people fall on either side of an issue.

The NDP in Manitoba was able to stay popular in part with a growing economy over a decade. While it may not have been as good as some provinces, it was good enough not to change horses when it came to election time. Gary Doer kept a lid on some of the worst inclinations of his party and growing provincial and transfer revenue meant he could throw money at some problems.

As the NDP know now, it is harder to be popular when you are in deficit and tough decisions may be required. In Manitoba, they government of Greg Selinger is hoping to squeak in before a full reckoning is needed of some of the hard choices that will come.

I have preferred the different approach of the Liberals both provincially and federally. There are many times when I have disagreed with that party on matters. However, I have never liked the either or approach of simple left/right decision.

I don't want a merger of Liberal and NDP because I know for a fact that many Liberals would not be part of an NDP party. If there was a combined party, some might opt for Conservative, some might elect to have a split off Liberal party and some might find their way to Greens or others. Some, like myself, when presented with no choice might not vote at all.

The NDP should stay as they are and so should the the Liberals. Generate ideas, recruit people and fund raise. This is the best solution to being the ruling party. There shouldn't be an assumption that combining the two parties equals victory in the next election.

Blockbuster Closing

2011-09-03T17:01:00.003-05:00

Many were closed earlier. The rest are going now. Blockbuster US basically threw Blockbuster Canada under the bus and used its American debts. The the new owner made it impossible for the remainder of the company to be sold by trying to deny them the use of the Blockbuster name.

It is another example of how the Canadian arm of a U.S. company can do better than the U.S. part and get dropkicked regardless. We have seen this with Linens and Things, Office Depot and now Blockbuster.

The St. James Blockbuster was doing a brisk business but no real additional sales as yet. Expect blow-outs soon.

The only large national chain of movie rental place that exist now are Rogers Video.

Google announced that they will be renting movies via Youtube this past week. However, there is not many new movies and it is a very small library at the moment.

Netflix continues to operate and with a better price. However, they too don't have much in the new category yet either.

While many people say that downloading or Video on Demand is what everyone wants, the two formats often don't have a huge library, offer new material quickly and can be expensive.

It looks like the end of an era but is it one that might turn out to have less choice and cost more in the end?

Manitoba Election 2

2011-08-31T16:34:00.003-05:00

The negative ads turn people off and they often work. Even the federal NDP in the last election ran negative ads despite the impression that they ran a positive campaign.

Remember that ad?

However, it ended in the soft approach of Jack Layton saying he'd be different. That is easier to do than defend against a record in government.

Ultimately, the ads that were most effective for the NDP and the Tories were against the Liberals. Even before the election was run, the impression was set of Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals.

In the provincial election of 2011, the provincial NDP under Greg Selinger has pulled out the nastiest campaign we have seen in the 1980s when the PCs and NDP were all alone in the legislature to spout hatred of one another. It was awful. And polarizing.

The ad campaign the NDP are running on privatizing Hydro is particularly brazen.

Can you imagine if ad campaigns against the NDP ran like this:

NDP plan to nationalize MTS!

NDP to introduce HST!

And so on...

At this point, it probably will be an out and out campaign of nastiness.

One thing is clear: The NDP have been in power 12 years and they do have a record to run on and defend. This can be a good and a bad thing.

They can take credit for some good things but it is going to be hard to trumpet reductions in crime when this year may outpace past years for murder, arson, drugs and gang activity. How many fires has the police helicopter put a stop to? Some parts of the province are a war zone.

And as far as economic activity goes, we are not doing as well as other provinces. There is an increasing gap in now much tax Manitoba pays relative to other provinces.

Our education program which really is directed from the province down is not producing results. There are too many school divisions, too much interference when a division wants to close a small school, too much dependence on property tax to fund education and too few graduates.

Think of the two things above and we continue to see a net migration of people away from the province. Not good.

Greg Selinger can say that the province is making progress on a lot of things but people who have suffered crime, felt the tax sting and have had family move out of the province for better education or job opportunities are going to have to be convinced of the merits of having the NDP in another term.

The PCs under Hugh McFadyen tried scare tactics last election on crime but while it was a concern, the economy stability and popularity of Gary Doer was just too much to overcome for a new leader.

The NDP at the time used the most simple of attack techniques. They defined the leader before PCs could do that themselves.

The NDP commercials suggest they are going down this path again. The problem is whether the message will have the same impact as it did when no one knew Hugh McFadyen.

The NDP face their own problem of selling their leader whom the public doesn't know very well. Greg Selinger on the face of things seems joyless. Unlike Gary Doer, he doesn't look comfortable out in public and doesn't have the star appeal that the former premier did. In short, the man doesn't look like he would be comfortable having a beer at a Blue Bomber game.

Charisma and charm can go a long way. A negative campaign would likely work a lot better if Selinger had it as easily as Doer did.

The same applies to Hugh McFadyen. He has to be visible and people have to hear him speak. Television would appear to be the best bet. They might take a cue from Jack Layton's ad above.

As for the Liberals, Jon Gerrard has to be one of the more decent men in politics. He appears to have a few good people running and the Manitoba Legislature would be a poorer place with two polarized parties in it. The electorate would do themselves well to look at the policies of all the parties are and not fear who they vote for whether it be Greens or Liberal or whatever.

The NDP and PCs should guard against talking about wasted votes. The voice of Jack Layton could be embarrassing if used against the NDP on this matter. Likewise, the Tories would benefit from a stronger Liberal vote and shouldn't see it as harmful to their cause.

The changes in Wolseley/West Broadway area Part 4

2011-08-29T13:19:00.007-05:00

187 Balmoral Street converted house

I wrote about the West Broadway area some time ago. House prices in the area have risen dramatically. This has caused some people in the area to consider upgrades and investments that they might not have considered when prices were static or even in decline in the 1990s.

There were many streets for years that were outright dangerous and some properties that were dens of drug activity and violence. The streets between Portage Avenue and Broadway were plain scary at times.

There are still problem areas but some developers are trying to re-claim streets one house at a time. One such house is at 187 Balmoral Street. The Free Press reported this development being on the south side of Broadway when in fact it is on the northside.

The building was reclaimed from a fire in 2009. The prices for the one and two bedroom units are decidedly upscale but then the location is within walking distance of the legislature and Great West Life building.

Is it possible that this area might be transformed to the status it had in the 1920s? This isn't a bad assumption since it is one of the closest intact neighbourhoods to our downtown.

Look to see more of the house here being converted, restored, upgraded and re-claimed.

This won't be happening for every neighbourhood close to the downtown but this particular area is ripe for change as it is close to Armstrong Point, Wolseley and the changes happening along Sherbrook and Maryland Streets.

Winnipeg Jets TV and Radio Broadcasts

2011-08-27T20:28:00.007-05:00

The Winnipeg Jets continue to prepare for the new season.

In terms of the radio broadcasts, it is confusing. CJOB's Brian Munz is moving to Sports Radio 1290 to share the radio broadcast with Dennis Beyak

Dennis Beyak is TSN's man and will be doing all the regional TSN TV broadcasts of the Jets and all radio broadcasts on Sports Radio 1290 when he is not on TV.

In other words, Munz is the fill in host when Beyak is not around.

I don't know how this is going to work but it does have to be disappointing to Munz who has been the radio voice of the Manitoba Moose all on his own and now will be sharing that role.

Overall, it is shaping up to be a great year in terms of Jets broadcasts. The national exposure is pronounced. The Jets will appear in the top tier when it comes to total games. The interest seems to be coast to coast in terms of viewing the games.

It is a big difference from 1996 when there were only a few times to watch the Jets nationally and locally, the coverage was fairly limited. With fives years of sell-outs, there is no such thing as a black out. Every game will be on the tube and in high definition, it will be glorious.

CJOB who lost the radio rights have hired a reporter as well former Manitoba Moose play by play guy Kelly Moore to cover the Jets. The plan is for a pre and post game offering. This is similar to when CJOB lost the NHL to CKY and did the same thing. The station was well positioned later on to take the broadcast rights back again.

I suspect that we will see a full court press from the media when it comes to Jets coverage. One wonders if Global and CTV will kick it up a notch as well with Jets programs or NHL reports.

The expanded TV coverage is good for bars and restaurants as well. What makes a good sports bar? Lots of hockey coverage and now the Jets might pack them in.

Big screens, high definition, wall to wall coverage and no black outs. It certainly isn't 1996 anymore.

Winnipeg Jets national TV broadcasts.

Sunday, Oct. 9th vs. Montreal, CBC/RDS/NHLN, 4 pm.

Thursday, Oct. 13th @ Chicago, TSN, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 15th @ Phoenix, CBC, 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 19th @ Toronto, TSN, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22nd vs. Carolina, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29th @ Tampa Bay, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5th @ New Jersey, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12th, @ Columbus, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 19th vs. Philadelphia, CBC, 2 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 26th, @ Boston, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3rd vs. New Jersey, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10th vs. Detroit, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17th vs. Anaheim, CBC, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 22nd vs. Montreal, RDS, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 31st vs. Toronto, CBC, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 4th @ Montreal, TSN/RDS, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 7th @ Buffalo, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 14th vs. New Jersey, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21st vs. Florida, CBC, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 5th @ Montreal, CBC/RDS, 1 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 11th @ Pittsburgh, CBC/NHL, 1 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 17th vs. Boston, TSN, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 25th vs. St. Louis, CBC, 1 p.m.

Monday, March 5th vs. Buffalo, Versus, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 24th @ Nashville, CBC, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, March 28th vs. New York Rangers, TSN, 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 31st @ Tampa Bay, CBC, 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 7th vs. Tampa Bay, CBC, 6 p.m.

Toronto

2011-08-26T08:27:00.005-05:00

The Condos Changing the Toronto Skyline

Just got back from Toronto after a weekend convention.

I always tell people who travel to think carefully when contrasting their hometown to places they go to for business and pleasure. While it can be fun to take note of differences, it should also be viewed through the prism that we don't live in the city and don't see it through the daily lives of those who live there.

Having said that, it is not hard to see that Toronto may very well lead North America in how many construction cranes are in operation. That is not an idle statement. The boom in condo construction reminds me of what I saw in Florida over the years. In that sense, it alarms me as it was unsustainable growth in the U.S.

I can't say for certain that what is happening in Toronto could go bust but one thing is certain, it is transforming the skyline.

I didn't see as much in terms of pure office buildings going up. The last reports I saw indicated that the city was still absorbing a bit of stock from two years back when three tower went up.

However, this isn't about the financials underpinning Toronto today but an observation of where they are now.

What we see in Toronto today is a downtown filled with people. Some of this was organic growth, some of this was planned and a lot of this was fueled by 40 years of sustained immigration. In some respects there are two Torontos. The first being the urban one with offices, neighbourhoods and the like packed tightly together in higher density settings. The second is the suburban Toronto with subdivisions and regional offices and shopping. Throw into the mix service, industrial and manufacturing all over the city to keep people employed.

This is didn't all happen overnight. In my case, I stayed at the Harbourfront which got its kick start back in 1972 when the Trudeau government set up a plan to start changing the port of Toronto lands into something resembling Vancouver's Granville Island.

It is a work in progress to be sure. Many people come to the area for entertainment or work but the Gardiner Expressway, an elevated road creates quite a lot noise and blocks easier access. Transportation is via streetcar and the ferry can shuttle people off to Toronto Island.

The other noise in the immediate area is the Toronto Island airport. While obviously a huge convenience for those not wanting to use the ridiculously far and expensive Pearson International, the Porter Airlines aircraft take off at high angles and quite often.

It is obvious the city of Toronto has its hands filled trying to figure out how to make the area successful while still maintaining a functioning metro. Hence, the comment about the two Torontos.

Still, it is hard not to be impressed with with has been slowly achieved over the years. The downtown is filled with people and several districts have emerged and continue to thrive. It will interesting to see where it goes.

****

Now, the inevitable comparison to Winnipeg. We lack people in the central area of the city. With the exception of The Forks (which is Winnipeg's grand initiative on par with Habourfront), we have few places where people pour out onto the streets.

All of our grand downtown gestures save one did not think to include housing as a major component. The Winnipeg Convention Centre had a major component of apartment housing next door with the Holiday Towers. Sadly, the site was orphaned and left surrounded by parking lots.

In the last five years, Winnipeg has caught up with many cities in terms of building new condos in the downtown. Waterfront Drive has taken off and now we are seeing phase two being developed. Tens of millions are being spent. However, unlike the 26 floors of Holiday Towers North and South, we are seeing new construction of only several floors at a time.

So far, developers are only taking a tentative step forward in this regard. And why put themselves out? Twice now, two towers in the Broadway area and even further afield in the suburbs have met with resistance. Even smaller condo projects in River Heights and Linden Woods have run into trouble.

Maybe it is that way all over Canada and beyond. However, we seem to torpedo apartment and condo projects that are completely private investment driven.

After this next phase of condo and apartment building in downtown Winnipeg, are we likely to see some construction cranes and the buildings of high rises? One can hope.

We need more people living downtown to create dynamism. City Hall cannot continue as an impediment to this.

Jack Layton

2011-08-23T13:00:00.006-05:00

Jack Layton as he appeared four weeks ago

I won't eulogize here. It is being done in many places already.

The only thing I will say is that Canadians are likely to be far less polite about privacy when it comes to the leaders of political parties in Canada. Not content will we be to have someone say to us, do you want me to show you by doing push-ups and then we demur from asking for medical records.

If Canada is going to make our political system all about the leaders and less about the party, then we are going to need to know a lot more about the health of those leaders.

We were told four weeks ago that Jack Layton would be back September 19. However, even our own eyes were saying: Whoa. However, we demurred when the question came up about what the extent of the cancer was. Private is what we were told.

That won't be good enough in the future. I think we will see a push for more health disclosure as we see in the States.

Layton was a courageous man and he was a man of conviction. However, we didn't know how bad things were. Transparency has been the hallmark of many a politician. It is going to have to start at the level of the personal. We will need to know the health of our political leaders.

Manitoba Election 1

2011-08-16T22:37:00.009-05:00

It is unlikely that many people will pay detailed attention to the impending election in Manitoba until after the Labour Day long weekend.

By contrast, all hell has been breaking out in the Ontario election as provincial Liberals have been clubbing the Progressive Conservatives like it was going out of style. A number of polls have come out to show the PC leader has no credibility with women possibly due to a pro-life position he has expressed in the past.

In Manitoba, it has been the sound of crickets and barbecues sizzling.

It hasn't all been fun and games though. Nominations have been happening all over the province. And some have gotten nasty while others have gotten stale. The NDP, in particular, has seen some of the nastiness in St. Norbert (stale is Elmwood).

This type of contempt in a local riding didn't matter in Wellington in the last election with two NDP candidates thrown under the bus. I still remember the grin when Gary Doer said the controversy wouldn't matter, they'd still win. He was right.

There have always been some very consistent ridings for the Tories and the NDP. Some call them "yellow dog" ridings because you could be a yellow dog and win the seat.

St. Norbert would be a hard one to call a "yellow dog" riding. It has been held by three parties in the last twenty-five years. If the NDP had an incumbent member running there, the edge would go to them. However, that edge narrows without it.

The dumping of a candidate on the eve of the nomination probably doesn't sit well with a lot of people including NDP members. If this is a proxy war between Steve Ashton and Greg Selinger, the ugliness threatens the party with losing a seat.

Nastiness has risen dramatically in the last year in Manitoba politics. I expect it to get worse. As the provincial Liberals have shown in Ontario, you kick your opponent in the balls and you keep kicking even when they are down.

At the moment, the NDP seem to kicking each other in the balls as hard as they kick the PCs. Don't think that no one won't notice if the civil war between NDP factions continues into September.

Portage Avenue 10 - McDonald's Development

2011-08-15T18:08:00.008-05:00

The Former McDonald's in the 600 Block of Portage Avenue

Google Streetview of what existed across the street where the present McFeetors Hall and Faculty of Science buildings of University of Winnipeg are

The McDonald's in the 600 block of Portage Avenue has sat empty for years since the restaurant chain moved westward the spot between Sherbrook and Maryland Streets. That is a long time.

The reason McDonald's moved was that the restaurant was quite large compared to the formats they now favour. It also could only be accessed for drive through by going down a side street and was not convenient for people travelling west as drivers could not simply turn to access the south side location.

And so the large store sat empty.

The ever expanding footprint of the University of Winnipeg has changed everything. In three years, the university has created both north and south side entities in the form of McFeetors Hall, the Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex and the Buhler Centre.

More expansion is pending.

The presence of so many students obviously has not gone unnoticed by the business community. While the McDonald's was far too big for one restaurant chain to make a go of it, it certainly has promise for three.

The Free Press reported that a developer was sub-dividing the restaurant into three and created a new storefront for the whole thing.

Hello hungry university students.

Now sadly, there is another big empty storefront to fill. The Blockbuster a few doors over from McDonald's has been empty since the U.S. parent threw Canada's stores under the bus as collateral.

This will be the first full academic year that many of these new components will all be in place.

The western part of the campus will be accessible two ways. The first via Portage Avenue. The second through the new Richardson Green Corridor.

It will be interesting to see what other developments from the private sector might result from the U of W building program. We have yet to see the fieldhouse and another dorm residence to come.

This is an election year. Might we hear further developments?

Buhler Centre lands prior to construction

Winnipeg Jets Win the Stanley Cup

2011-08-14T16:38:00.008-05:00

June 15, 2012. Winnipeg Jets Win Stanley Cup.

Okay...hasn't happened yet. But what if it did?

Are we prepared for a riot?

Vancouver was fairly confident that they could avoid such a scene that had previously plagued them the last time they hosted Stanley Cup hopes and failed.

I know that one DJ host has tried to get a future pledge of Winnipeggers not to riot in the aftermath of victory or defeat. This is a good thing and would appeal to most citizens. However, maybe not to those who through political belief or drunken loutedness wish to cause havoc.

It is important to have the discussion of whether people in Winnipeg might riot. The fact that the Winnipeg Jets hockey team has already shown that people will break the law to mount barrier at Portage and Main is indicative of the passion people feel about the team.

So what to do to create a happy or celebratory feeling without being heavy handed while at the same time preventing violence?

Well, let's think aloud:

How to Prevent Riots

1 MORE POLICE

First and foremost, riots are less likely to occur if there is a strong presence of police. The LA riots in 1992 were able to accelerate because there were often no police around. Some police abandoned their positions according to reports and residents of Koreatown had to protect themselves.

I think that police cadets, police and other patrols have to be out in full force on game days. Traffic and crowd control should be expected regularly and in play-offs, you should not be able to turn two feet without a police officer being nearby.

Enforcement should be friendly and helpful. Most people are just looking to go home after games but is entirely possible that people could flood out into the streets cheering even for things such as getting into the play-offs on the last day possible. The trick is to be prepared.

If everyone is used to seeing cops, they will know what the limits are.

2 SAFETY AUDIT

I think in the interest of special events, conventions and sports, a new safety audit has to be conducted of the downtown. Reports on blind spots, dark areas and places of special concern should all be noted.

In keeping with that audit, new lighting, mirrors and patrol routes should be put up to keep people safe and to make them feel safe.

The assumption that a potential riot would happen on Portage or at Portage and Main is a good one. However, what if it happened in the MTS Centre or the walkway system or a parkade? Best to assume that trouble could happen in a few different places.

3. PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS

There are some newspaper columnists that believe that if everyone is armed, we will be safer.

I mentioned the 1992 riots when police were reported to have abandoned their posts. In that case, Koreatown shopkeepers protected themselves. Some point to this as being the example we should look at: Buy a gun, protect yourself and stop the riot. The newspaper columnist points this out.

He goes further though and mentions Switzerland where everyone has a gun:

There won't be any looting in Switzerland, ever. There won't even be a fantasy. Swiss families are protected by what's in their culture, their laws, their heads, their hearts and their gun racks.

There are 700,000 assault rifles registered in Switzerland. And you can bet your bullets Zurich and Bern and Geneva will never look like London.

Bullets do fly in Switzerland. Just not from riots:

In 2001, one of the worst mass killings in Europe took place in Switzerland.

Just after 10am on September 28, Friedrich Leibacher made his way into the parliament building of the Swiss canton of Zug and unleashed a bloodbath. In total, 14 people were shot dead. Three of the seven members of the local Zug government were killed, and another was seriously wounded. Eleven of the 80 members of the canton council were shot dead and numerous others wounded. Two journalists were also badly injured.

Sadly, this was not an isolated case in that country.

The widespread armament of the people does not necessarily translate into keeping the peace.

So, how does one protect their business?

Well, it may simply mean being present. In Vancouver, some shopkeepers were able to thwart would be looters just by being at their store.

Now, this isn't always the best course of action in a rapidly deteriorating situation but there is strength in numbers. Imagine if several shops had their people out on the street in front of their shops.

Other measures to protect business could include video cameras, better lighting and better security for doors and windows. Hopefully, it will never mean pulling a metal garage door down in front of the shop.

3. PEOPLE SECURITY

I think if the Winnipeg Jets make the play-offs, we need people to pledge to look out for one another. This might mean stopping aggressive behaviour before it happens. If a friend is overdrinking, steer them away from conflict. If someone sees an act of violence, theft or vandalism, report it, record it, discourage it.

The mob in a riot often acts as it does because they believe they are anonymous. Ensure that anyone acting out with be known to everyone.

If there is no police presence, people security can act as a deterrent. There is a big difference between being a bystander and a witness. A bystander does nothing while a witness reveals what they saw and heard.

Pledge to be part of the solution, not the problem.

4. GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT

Various levels of government need to have a plan. They need to plan a response, train for a response and keep modifying it according to assessment.

In terms of the Winnipeg Jets, there needs to be a well established pattern to police deployment. But things can't just be left to that one government department at the city level. The various safety committees in City Hall should be planning and acting now about areas that could be problems.

For example, it would be the height of dumbness if a city construction project was underway on Portage Avenue and a big pile of bricks sat outside Portage Place.

The police can do a lot but don't handicap them by leaving potential weapons on the street for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup.

The aforementioned safety audit would be a good guide for City Hall to figure out how to make the city secure in a general sense. It is important to think outside the box. What if a riot occurred on Graham Avenue rather than Portage? What if it broke up into several segments? What if it was inside a building?

Don't focus solely on one street.

The provincial and federal governments are not left out of this equation.

If Winnipeg gets into the play-offs, the province would do well to have judges and other court officials at the ready if needed. Hundreds of people might be arrested and it does no one well if all the judges have put up the "gone fishin" sign.

The province should have a quick response plan for getting people remanded and before a judge quickly. This is in the event of a riot but in the aftermath after as well. No one who riots should think they will escape responsibility for it. That response should be speedy to discourage further incidents.

The assumption should not be that there is one riot and it ends there. It could compound if government appears slow.

At both the provincial level and the federal levels, the governments there can assist with intelligence and logistics. If riots are being organized through Twitter, Facebook and the semi-private Blackberry, only higher levels of government have the ability to monitor and/or shut down.

There is some debate in this area from privacy advocates but at the very least, monitoring of these networks is probably necessary. We have already seem flashmob violence in the U.S. It is probably best not to be caught flatfooted in this area.

The federal government also has many resources in justice and security to assist in advance of things and with haste during and after an event.

5. SPEED

Don't respond too slowly at every turn. Now is the time to plan for things. It should always be about responding quickly and smartly.

It is going to be hard to say: we didn't know when people are already thinking "what if..."

Well, the government and people in general need to think the same thing.

Speed, speed, speed.

If a riot starts in the MTS Centre, smother it fast. If looting happens at Portage Place, move quickly.

If the mobs splits up or tries to disappear in the crowd, have spotters high up. Grab them, remove them, follow them but for Pete's sake, don't leave them to build a bonfire of police cars.

6 Media Saturation

Talk openly about personal responsibility on the media. Emphasize the community shame from acts of violence.

Indicate what measures are in place for people's security and how people can help to assist.

Some in the media are saying what if everyone had a gun. How about if everyone had a camera?

It would be a lot harder for someone to commit crimes with several cameras on them and knowing it was going to be posted up for all to see and provided to the police.

While it won't stop some people, it will stop a lot. And those that do act in front of a camera ought to know that while they might break a window, they will be taken into custody.

For the anarchists who cover their face, just remember they probably didn't arrive that way and won't be leaving that way. A compendium of photos and video evidence can catch people along with good intelligence and other preventative measures.

***

Well, that's in a nutshell. I'm no police expert but we can't be smug here about the issue of a riot.

Truly the answer is a little more involved that just arm everyone.

And one last thing: Go Jets go!

Sterling Lyon Parkway Part 1

2011-08-07T19:26:00.007-05:00

Sterling Lyon Parkway Medical Center

The Sterling Lyon Parkway. The red marks the area where Ikea and Seasons of Tuxedo will be. Across Kenaston, the medical center.

The focus has been on Kenaston but the development along Sterling Lyon Parkway is a like a run away train.

Tall condos, seniors residences and officer buildings are going up fast.

One office building in particular has been going up for months. The Sterling Lyon Health Centre is a medical and professional building going up in partnership with eight local doctors a Troika Developments of B.C.

It is on the corner of Lorimer and Sterling Lyon, a baseball throw from where the Ikea will be built at Kenaston and Sterling Lyon. The medical center will stand at 5 stories with an underground parking lot. At 71,000 square feet and costing $20 million, the edifice is rather imposing as you drive down the increasingly busy divided road.

The warehouse and offices going up in this area astound each year. And condos are sprouting up all the time.

More on this in the future...

Polo Park 12 - Broadway Florists and Other News

2011-08-06T17:38:00.009-05:00

Original location of Broaway Florists

Polo Park location of Broadway Florist

Two year ago, Polo Park celebrated its 50 anniversary. As reported in the Free Press, there were some original tenants still calling the place home. That number is dwindling as Zellers will be re-branded Target soon and Broadway Florists finds itself squeezed out.

More and more local and Canadian retailers are seeing themselves cast out of the premiere mall in the city in favour of American and international retailers. While there is still Canadian content in Polo Park, the one thing you won't find anymore is a florist.

The family owned Broadway Florist, a city force since 1923, did not get the lease renewal that had automatically happened their entire time at Polo Park. The 1000 feet main floor retailing spot and the 2000 square foot basement storage was withdrawn favour of 600 foot space beside Scotia Bank. Oh, and forget about the basement anymore too.

Not good enough for the Cholakis family who looked elsewhere and bought the Academy location where florists have existed for 60 years. At present it is Villa Flora. However, it used to be home to another longtime Winnipeg florist, Academy Florist.

Aside from Broadway Florists, Ben Moss has also moved in the store to a more central and larger location. They are using a new design that is being unrolled to the rest of their 63 locations.

The second location of Bath and Body Works just opened as well.

The big empty space of McNally Robinson will be occupied by Urban Planet. No word on whether they will use all 20,000 square feet of it.

Winnipeg Convention Centre

2011-08-01T18:16:00.003-05:00

With very little fanfare, debate or explanation, the Winnipeg Convention Centre is planning to move to the next level in its quest to expand the size of the 132,000 square foot facility. At a proposed $180 million the project is massive and the changes to the downtown and the city could be profound.

Since 1974, the Winnipeg Convention Centre has been responsible for some of the largest and most important gatherings of Canadians in history. It was there in 1983 that Joe Clark decided that he had not received enough of a mandate to continue as leader without a new leadership convention. This proved to be his undoing.

The annual conventions that take place at the facility each year have been a boon to business and tourism alike. Several hotels and restaurants make their year based on what happens at the Convention Centre.

In 1974, the building of such a large facility was a leap of faith. There was no other buildings of its size in Canada at the time and no one aside from the city seemed willing to finance the construction. It probably chafed some butt at City Hall to watch other cities receive oodles of provincial and federal cash to steal Winnipeg's lunch money.

There have been some naysayers at the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation at projects like the Convention Centre. They have proposed a scaled back expansion to save $54 million. Other critics have been less charitable and have wanted to scrap the expansion or to somehow get out of the money-losing convention business.

The justification for a convention center usually comes from its economic impact. Public ownership of the facility only make sense if the events generate revenue and profits for the private businesses that utilize the building. The people who advocate for private ownership of a convention center need to take into account that if the venue is a profit-based business, it will be intent on convention center profits.

This is not an unimportant point. The Winnipeg Convention Centre's strongest position doesn't come from how profitable the facility is but how much business it generates as a whole. In turn, this draws more taxes for government and more profits for business.

As difficult as it is to come up with good numbers of the Winnipeg Convention Centre's economic impact, there is no doubt that it does try to get maximal benefits to its users. It is for this reason that all three levels of governments have ponied up.

Still, the concerns of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation should not be dismissed. While maximal profit-making should be left to the hotels and their meeting and banquets business, the Winnipeg Convention Centre should try to mitigate the operating losses.

In the past they did this with a mix of retailing, movie theatre and hosting a temporary casino.

Retailing will continue to help pay the freight but the big ticket item is likely to be a hotel connected to or on top of the Convention Centre paying rent. This is in the plans for the present expansion although the details are fairly sketchy.

In terms of what the Winnipeg Convention Centre does for the downtown, it cannot be denied that until the MTS Centre was built, there was not one city property aside from the Millenium Library that drew such consistent numbers of people to the area. However, unlike the library, many of the people who come to the Convention Centre often stay in hotels and use the restaurants in the area as well.

It is without doubt that of the two, the Convention Centre has a bigger wallop.

The unfortunate thing about city facilities such as City Hall, library and Convention Centre is that while they are all downtown, they lack synergy because they are all spread out over a great distance. It has taken till 2010 to even connect up the walkway system so that library and Convention Center are attached.

There is nothing to be done about about how spread out things are except try to coordinate efforts. It is surprising even know how things run at cross purposes or from one crisis to another sometimes. The SHED (Sports, hospitality and entertainment district) program appears to be one way to link things up. Still, at 11 blocks and incorporating theatres north of Portage Avenue and all the way down to the Convention Centre, it is lot of real estate to connect the dots.

And whenever possible, it is important to remember that the downtown is also a good area for office buildings. It is still remarkable to me that Western Financial was lost to the Polo Park area and that no one talked to them from the downtown agencies. Missed opportunity when you consider that Stantec was negotiating around the same time to build across from the MTS Centre.

It will be interesting to see how the Convention Centre looks when all the tenders are in and the actual building design comes in.

It would be good to see some projects fulfill the potential many believed they had from the beginning.

Impressionist Jim Meskimen Does Shakespeare in Celebrity Voices

2011-07-23T23:42:00.001-05:00

My Favorite Band

2011-07-23T23:31:00.001-05:00

CJOB Will Prevail

2011-07-21T17:30:00.007-05:00

It is being reported that TSN has completed an agreement for Winnipeg Jets broadcasts.

This would include TV and radio broadcasts and push CJOB for only the second time in its history out Winnipeg Jets broadcasting. Three years after the Jets got into the NHL in 1979, CKY won the broadcast rights and Curt Keilback and Ken (The Friar) Nicolson were allowed to leave from one broadcaster to go the other. They would make the return trip a number of years later when CJOB regained the broadcast rights. I still can't remember the exact dates they moved back and forth nor can I remember about the TV broadcasting. I re-call the CKY years for local Jets broadcasts but the WHA had CKND broadcasts. Any help here would be appreciated.

CJOB has been the broadcaster of the Manitoba Moose the last 15 years. No one has done hockey more than they over the last years. If CFRW had not converted over sports radio broadcasting in the last year, they might have been a shoe in.

However, Sports Radio 1290 with the backing of Bell and the TSN sport network had the one-two punch of TV and radio broadcasts under one roof that CJOB just didn't have.

CJOB's parent company Corus Entertainment does not have a national sports broadcaster for TV. Well, at least nothing that does hockey broadcasts. For Manitoba Moose broadcasts, this was not a big impediment but in today's NHL where every game is televised, it is.

Unlike in the past when CJOB wrested the broadcasts back to their station, it seems the loss of hockey will be permanent unless Corus acquires a sports broadcaster or if some sort of partnership is formed with another TV network.

I have no idea how long the Blue Bombers radio contract is tied up but CJOB is no doubt going to find they face the same problem of a radio/TV connection. TSN already does CFL football. Is it really a stretch to think that 1290 Sports Radio might eventually buy the radio rights too?

CJOB will prevail. However, the loss of hockey broadcasts is huge. One wonders if this the event that knocks the station out of first place in the radio ratings.

Tuxedo Business Park

2011-07-17T14:05:00.016-05:00

Tuxedo Business Park Present and Future Plans

I have worked in the Tuxedo Business Park since 2008. Last year was the first years new construction didn't happen save for the Tim Horton's. I have found it a great place to work although (and this is a big although) there are no sidewalks or bikepaths to get there. I drive to work every day. There is a bus loop into the business park but the buses don't come odd hours that I work.

Lost in all the discussion about Kenaston traffic and the coming of Ikea and development of the Kapyong Barracks is how ever greater business development and housing is happening yearly along the corridor.

Each year I have worked at my company, there has been new building in the business park. And now the Free Press reports that a large new buildings is going up. The Composites Innovation Centre is relocating from the University of Manitoba to Tuxedo. Leaping from 6000 square feet to 21,000 square feet, it represents a major investment in the community. The developer Terracon will use CIC to anchor the 45,000 square foot new building. I have little doubt they will be fully leased in the next months.

A further 24,000 square foot business park office complex is in the works for next year. The big surprise is the possible addition of a hotel right next to the IKEA site and in front of the cement plant.

Yes, a hotel along Kenaston. Who'd thunk? With IKEA right next door, a couple of hotels could do okay.

It ain't going to be easy squeezing everyone down Commerce Drive. My guess is that three lanes all the way down to Kenaston Common and turning lanes and better traffic signals will needed in short order.

The front of the Tuxedo Business Park Includes GoodLife Fitness and Tim Horton's.

The future hotel site:

IKEA Expands

2011-07-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

The Biggest IKEA in the World in Sweden.

The biggest IKEA in the world is in Sweden. Naturally. It is where the company started. At 594,000 square feet, the store south of Stockholm is massive.

The Free Press reported that IKEA has submitted a revised building footprint for their Kenaston and Sterling Lyon location.

Once planned as a massive 350,000 square foot monstrosity, it will now be larger by 12% and come in at 395,000 square feet. According to IKEA, the expansion will accommodate further warehouse space. This will make it the second largest in Canada as it will be overshadowed by the re-building of Ottawa's store to 430,000 square feet.

The endless construction by Fairweather Properties prepping the roads around the area is enough to make your teeth grate. Many times it is simply dangerous in there moving around. At $26.5 million and with three traffic lights, the cash for IKEA is being fronted by the company but they will be eventually get back all of it minus $4.5 million.

Hopefully, someone inspects the roads after to avoid the Cinema City zoning fiasco.

There are a lot more development announcements happening on Kenaston. Traffic outcry is only going to increase.

Still, I regards the IKEA expansion as good. I don't blame them for the traffic woes. Quite honestly, there isn't a place in the province where someone would not have a traffic concern. Had they gone downtown there would have been complains, Headingley complaints, Regent complaints.

Hope that someone is not asleep at the wheel when it comes to explosion of growth coming on Kenaston. Welcome IKEA but will the city let you down about your decision by bottle-necking the area 24 hours a day?

Grant Park Shopping Mall 2

2011-07-12T11:29:00.003-05:00

Old commercial for Grant Park Shopping Mall.

I wrote back several weeks that something was afoot at Grant Park Shopping Mall.

I speculated initially some of the store closures and moves might be as a result of Target taking over Zellers spot.

The mall made some changes when Walmart took over in 1994 with McNally Robinson and the movie theatres all expanding. Other major anchors moved or were renovated such as the Liquor Mart and Safeway.

It was easy to see say that a few changes might be coming as a result of the Zellers re-branding. Alas though, it the Liquor Mart that is responsible for some of the shuffling going on.

Once the flagship of the Manitoba Liquor Mart chain of stores, the Grant Park location although largest is now second highest in volume after the Dakota location.

The Liquor Mart plans a 1500 square renovation which will see 6 stores moved from the western to central area of the mall. This will result in some closures of some month to month renters. The overall change should help Grant Park reclaim unchallenged leadership as flagship store.

It is heady times for the Liquor Marts. They are are expanding in two locations in the south now after chasing Salisbury House out of the Tuxedo Park Mall. In addition, Manitoba government changes to the liquor laws will make it possible for kiosks of the Liquor Mart to open in stores. This is quite the expansion of the MLCC's reach.

It is an election year and for the NDP government, it is probably looking to kill two birds with one stone: Expand a unionized workplace to further areas and to loosen liquor laws. The greater discussion of liquor laws in general and whether to allow other private vendors in or to sell off or end the Liquor Mart remains to be had.

The government is fairly risk adverse and probably hopes this will be enough to get kudos.

The Liquor Marts do a good job at what they do. However, the question has to be asked if a government needs to own the retailer anymore. Further, a discussion of liquor laws on a wider scale should be undertaken to provide responsible Manitobans with choices and to ensure that issues related to crime, zoning, noise, addiction, FASD, advertising, police enforcement and things as simple as tailgate parties all are discussed.

For Grant Park Shopping Centre, the trick will be to try and keep Target in the mall and not have them decamp like Walmart did before. To do this, it may be necessary for the store to push westward even more so that the location can be larger. However, even that might not suffice given the size of a Super Target.

Lots of changes in the face of Canadian retailing none more-so than how Target transforms the landscape. The importance of smaller regional malls in adapting will be a large factor. Even smaller malls such as the Charleswood Mall opted to ditch the enclosed route and go for box strip mall to great success. Grant Park could find this is the way to go but the presence of so many offices in the mall as well as the movie theatres has probably kept them from going forward thus far.

Cinema City McGillivray

2011-07-08T07:05:00.015-05:00

Cinema City McGillivray

By the way, would you stand at that bus stop in front of the theatre? You'd likely get picked off by a wide vehicle or fall into the ditch behind.

Meadowbank Road. Take a look at the theatre wall behind and the "landscaping" of evergreens between the theatre and back yards of the housing.

Back on June 9, the Assiniboia Community Committee approved a plan for Cinema City McGillivary to reduce the landscape buffer between the theatre from 20 feet to 16 feet. The lowest picture shows the mature evergreens which are the only buffer to the back wall of the theatre complex.

The zoning department enforcement people dropped the ball in 1989 when the theatre was built and instead of a 20 foot buffer there was only a 16 foot buffer. How this can happen is anyone's guess and City Clerk's office merely shrugs their shoulders and says it happened for "reasons unknown."

So why is it important now? Well, the Cinema City McGillivary owners wish to build a large Shopper's Drug Mart west of the theatre and any further development would require the 20 foot buffer required under zoning.

On June 9, the city committee approved a proposal to amend the variance to affirm the actual 16 foot buffer existing on the south side and to also make the setback from that buffer 10 feet instead of 50 feet on the west side. As a sop to the changes which would have cost the developer even more to comply with, a proposal of further landscaping in the parking lot out front was promised.

In case anyone is wondering just how busy that area is, right across from the theatre is Costco.

There is so much clean up left after all the zoning and building changes in 1989 that it defies description. In the last city election many people sang the praises of the work of the late councillor Bill Clement. His service is undeniable but it is also the work of his committee that did not put in service roads or drop the hammer on developers who violated their approved zoning.

There is a mess on Route 90 and a lot of it is in this area. Let's hope that the new councllor and committee won't say for "reasons unknown" that zoning here was laughed at by developers later on.

The Return of The Jets

2011-07-05T17:27:00.003-05:00

The Golden Jet Bobby Hull

It is heady times in Winnipeg. For years fans have been mocked, teased and dismissed about the Winnipeg Jets ever returning to the city. The NHL returning after fifteen years ago in Phoenix seemed against all odds despite

I have refrained from saying anything in the months prior on the NHL coming back because I believed that the real announcement would only come from one group: The True North ownership.

The last I wrote on this subject was in 2009 when I said:

Winnipeg should be patient. It has an arena, an ownership group and a reputation for hockey. At some point the league might be coming to it because of problems with a franchise.

This is pretty much what happened. Atlanta Thrashers ownership and the NHL just couldn't make inroads in Georgia. Even when the economy was bubbling along in the U.S, Atlanta was a tough sell. It became tougher with a recession.

Meanwhile in Winnipeg, the owners of the Manitoba Moose stuck to their knitting, expressed interest in the NHL but otherwise kept quiet and showed that they had what it took to have an NHL team return. They did this by running a stable, profitable and competitive AHL franchise in one of the most utilized arenas in North America.

Gary Bettman has used Winnipeg for a long time as a hammer on weaker ownership and cities reticent in not offering supports for their NHL team. Phoenix and Atlanta have been the main whipping boys but a few others have also faced the spectre of losing a team. And Winnipeg's name has always been present.

The loss of Winnipeg's NHL was one of a series of blows the city took to its self confidence over a few decades. The city is not out of the woods yet but it has weathered things better, built on a few successes but has had a hard time coalescing things. It is possible that a Blue Bomber victory in the Grey Cup could have been a rallying point for a victory party at Portage and Main. Certainly on the face of it, the Bombers have more fans than the Jets did or do.

However, would a spontaneous pick up game of the 30 on 30 have happened downtown and The Forks. No.

The Jets was about thumbing our nose at the NHL when it started, it was about acceptance when we got in and it was our utter defeat when the team was lost to Phoenix.

The True North people had no real choice when it came to choosing the name Jets again. It has been an open wound for so long and while some said a fresh approach was equally valid, it seemed the wrong step to take in light of the fandom.

I'll be writing more in the next days about the coming changes around the MTS Centre. Some of those changes have been in the works for a while but there is no doubt that the return of the Jets has hastened some of that.

There was criticism of the MTS Centre over the years for a variety of things. Where it was built, how it was financed and what it would do for the downtown have always been an issue. I was entirely not satisfied with some of the financing of the MTS Centre. I certainly was not very happy with Crocus putting $5 million into the project. It lacked transparency going in and out. However, I never blamed the True North owners for what happened with MTS Centre and actually agreed about it going downtown.

In the end, it seems likely that the work to rehabilitate the Eaton's building would have required even more government help for what seemed an uncertain outcome.

I cannot deny the appeal of having the Jets back. I was brokenhearted when they left and didn't pay nearly as close attention to the NHL when they left. I have been following the Phoenix fiasco for years now but is all always seemed the odds were against us for getting this team or any other back.

I expect that a lot of pride will reside with the team and that with steady hands over years, something might be built that will make it possible for the downtown once again to be filled with celebrations.

Still in Charleswood

2011-06-26T10:14:00.004-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posts since the beginning of the the year. I have written when I could but it has been a tough number of months. I have been going through the process of a divorce. While there has not been any rancour, it has been deeply saddening and I have struggled with trying to stay focused on work and on how and where I will be living.

I thought most certainly I would leaving my beloved Charleswood as it seemed a difficult prospect to find a home in this market in the same area.

I was first started life in the downtown area about as close to Portage and Main as you could get residentially. My family bounced around from apartments to houses until I was just about to start Kindergarten. At that time, our family bought a house in River Heights. It was where I grew up through the many years.

When it came time to buy my first home, I looked in River Heights but found even then it was hyper-competitive to find a place. I looked farther afield in south Winnipeg until coming upon old Charleswood just past the west entrance to Assiniboine Park.

It is here that I have called home the last several years and it is where I have found a place again.

I am settling in and hope to continue to write more about the neighbourhood and about the city and province in general. As I said, it has been a tough time but I am finding a rhythm and getting back to it.

Grant Park Shopping Mall

2011-05-17T18:33:00.008-05:00

First it was Hanger's Fashion Warehouse closing and now it is Boutique la Femme closing. Lorenza Fashion is moving within the mall.

Is this all to accommodate Target as it takes over Zellers there?

The possible announcement of a movie theatre chain opening on the Ikea site could affect the Empire Theatre at Grant Park.

Speaking of theatres, the news nationally that IMAX will be building a digital system to be able to show 3D films. It remains to be seen how this affects the downtown Portage Place Imax Theatre.

In terms of the Grant Park Mall, the issue of remaining an enclosed mall will have to be looked at. It has some strong anchor tenants in McNally Robinson, Safeway and Target.

However, Target is certainly going to want a bigger location and the mall could certainly accommodate that but it might mean getting rid of the enclosed mall, theatre and restaurants.

Can this formula work? Well, it did for the Charleswood Centre Shopping Plaza. When Zellers left the mall to move ito Walmart's old location at Grant Park, the mall owners decided to do a stripmall box store format. They landed some good anchor stores and the last vacancy in the mall filled up in the last months. H&R Block opened in the space between Blockbuster and Sushi Park.

One development seems obvious and that is Grant Park is less likely to pull national and international retailers with its present set up of an enclosed mall. Now it seems that they are having a hard time holding on to local ones as well.

Coach Store Coming to Winnipeg

2011-05-15T21:43:00.004-05:00

This was passed on from OMC who found the information.

Coach store will be opening in Polo Park in September of 2011.

Coach is a U.S. based store specializing in leather goods. Handbags, wallets, luggage and accessories are some of the products sold at this sought out retailer.

For some people, this will be another check in their list of retailers that they wanted to see in Winnipeg.

The Flood Part 3

2011-05-13T17:08:00.007-05:00

An aerial view of the Assiniboine River and the Brandon flood zone.

Even with the grave warnings about the flooding that might happen this year, the Selinger government can't seem to get proper information to people about where flooding might happen and how people can protect their homes.

The NDP knew that they would probably be judged on how they fought the flooding this year and they have been pulling out all the stops. Thankfully, after the 1997 flood, the U.S. and Canadian governments put together a thoughtful approach and directly confronted the challenges. With the information derived from that report and consultations between the Liberal and NDP government, plans were drawn up for combat the 1 in 700 year flood that could lay waste to the bulk of the land along the Red River Valley.

In 2005 work began and the the final touches ended just recently.

The Red River Valley has always included all the rivers, streams and tributaries that flow into the Red. Some columnists in some newspapers have praised the sober discussion taking place now. That might be all well and good but the truth of the matter is that western Manitoba was an afterthought in flood preparations this year.

There has certainly been millions spent on raising dikes from Portage la Prairie to Headingley but it has always been geared to 1976 levels which was a much lower threshold than the work done on the Red River Floodway.

There will be grief and anger as the torrents of water will be released in the next hours. The government will be judged in three ways: What they did to prepare, what they did to manage things as it happened and what they are prepared to do afterward.

The NDP government is likely terrified that the flood could very well be in people's minds next October when the provincial vote happens. After more than a decade in power, it will be hard to blame others if things are perceived to be handled poorly.

One thing is quite clear: While western Manitoba has rural and conservative roots and a can do spirit, they have been looking for guidance from government. In fact, they have been begging for direction, information and a plan. So far it has been hard to watch people desperate for help not know what is happening and not sure what to do.

My thoughts are with the people in western Manitoba. Let's hope that the region overcomes the challenges in the days and weeks ahead.

Ultimate Dog Tease

2011-05-13T16:19:00.001-05:00

Blockbuster Video

2011-05-13T15:32:00.004-05:00

We recently saw Blockbuster Video in the Osborne Village close down. It has been something happening across North America although at a slower pace in Canada than the U.S.

Now, we hear that Blockbuster in Canada is being forced into bankruptcy due to missed payments from the parent company. The Canadian operations were used to help finance the U.S. ones. We have seen this type of issue before where Canada's operations were doing better and then the U.S. went under and took the Canadian part of the company down too. Linens and Things Canada was profitable but the U.S. closed the while company including in Canada rather than spin off the division.

I have mentioned the problems for Blockbuster here before. However, their situation in Canada has not been as dire. This is in part due to our slower Internet and that companies such as Rogers and Shaw who are determined to make companies like Netflix super expensive by extra billing if you download high def Titanic from them.

Shaw, Rogers and the other Internet providers are acting in their self interest by pricing their video on demand services at the forefront and pricing everyone else's out of reach.

The advent of video kiosks also has had an impact on Blockbuster. Safeway stores in Winnipeg have them. However, I have found they don't carry a large selection and not as convenient to return since you actually have to enter the store to put the video back in the kiosk. Perhaps if there were a lot more and a large selection, this would be a good option. As it is, it isn't as an attractive option for people who shop once a week at the store.

In recent months, the greed of the Internet providers and the inconvenience and lack of selection of the kiosks has made me appreciate Blockbuster a lot more.

It remains to be seen what the chosen delivery system for entertainment will be. The Internet providers want it to be video on demand but their ever greater gouging turns people off and makes stores like Blockbuster a good option.

It is funny how I think my options for watching a movie at home have become more limited rather the other way around.

Hangers Fashion Warehouse Closing After 22 Years

2011-05-10T17:17:00.005-05:00

Hangers Fashion Warehouse Location at Grant Park Shopping Mall

After 22 years in business, Hangers Fashion Warehouse is closing their four remaining locations in the city of Winnipeg and Steinbach.

They are:

Portage Place
Northgate Shopping Centre
Grant Park Shopping Mall

And in Steinbach:

Clearspring Shopping Centre

The owner of the company is retiring and it looks like no one was left to take over.

The Grant Park Mall location of the store only opened in July of 2010.

I never shopped there personally but recall a joke that could only be told in Winnipeg:

My mother applied for a job at Hooters. They gave her a job application for Hangers.

Sorry to see a long time Winnipeg store close.

One wonders what Portage Place and Grant Park Shopping Mall will find to replace these stores.

Aeropostale Opening in Winnipeg

2011-05-06T17:56:00.003-05:00

For those doing their regular shopping at the Children's Hospital Book Sale, you will notice at St. Vital Shopping Centre that construction is well underway on Winnipeg's first Aeropostale store.

The popular clothing store has been on the wish list for many shoppers for a few years.

Election Aftermath

2011-05-03T09:56:00.009-05:00

My predictions were off aside from a close guess what the Liberals would end up with in Quebec. I really couldn't tell how Quebec would end up aside from the fact the damage would be done to the Bloc. I believe that even Quebecers must be a little shocked that the BQ has fallen below official party status.

The NDP swept through Quebec. Even Tory cabinet ministers went down in defeat the NDP. I had thought as little as a few weeks ago that the Tories might win a few more seats in Quebec based on vote splits. However, as the Bloc went down so did the Liberals. The NDP benefited strongly and took seats that even they must be shocked about. The NDP even won with a candidate who may have never even visited the riding she won in. Yes, that's right. There is no evidence she has even been to her riding. Add to that, a handful of university students and a 19 year old.

It doesn't have to be bad for the NDP because of that but it probably means a huge learning curve. The newcomer MPs will find that it is a bit overwhelming coming to Ottawa, hiring staff, getting offices in both the riding and on The Hill and getting up to speed on job responsibilities.

The record on making huge gains in an election and not having them stick has some notable examples in Canadian history. The most recent is the ADQ in Quebec where Mario Dumont made a splash in the 2007 election only to be routed in 2008. The next best example is Bob Rae and the NDP majority government in Ontario from 1990 to 1995. The NDP is still hurting from those years. Last is the Liberals of Manitoba vaulting to Official Opposition in 1988. That status lasted two years as NDP targeted their ridings and regained second party status.

So...a majority Conservative government and an NDP Official Opposition, a very weak third party of Liberals, a handful of Bloc who don't qualify as a party and a breakthrough for Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

I expect the Tories will move to get some of their wish list completed early on in their mandate so that they can deliver more palatable and election-ready policies later on. The gun registry, crime legislation, Canadian Wheat Board, election financing laws and the like are all probably front and center. What comes after that is anyone's guess. The deficit can't be ignored forever and with four years till the next election, the Harper government will be watched carefully on that front.

Now, since I am a Liberal and identify with the center, I have to ask what the future of the party is now that the party has been crushed and the leader, Michael Ignatieff, has resigned.

Some say it is time to unite the left. One wonders if the NDP are thinking that now. At the moment, they are probably thinking of solidifying what they have now and taking another crack at it four years from now. Listening to some NDPers like Ed Broadbent, you get the feeling that they believe those people who voted Liberal will gravitate towards the NDP and the Tories. No need to court the Liberal party as an organization if the party simply dies and you pick up the supporters.

In any event, the first meeting of Liberal MPs and senators should be about two things. The first is: An interim leader. The second is: slow down.

In terms of the first, an interim leader should be selected for the House of Commons and who will not be running for the leadership of the party. I believe Ralph Goodale is that person if he decides to not run. If he does decide to run, the selection could be possibly two or three others including Justin Trudeau, who is rumoured not to be looking at a leadership run this time.

I am nervous about Trudeau being the interim leader but is guaranteed to draw lots of attention. One thing is certain, a major effort is needed to re-build Quebec and Trudeau has to be part of that equation.

In terms of the second thing that needs to be done in first meeting of Liberal MPs and senator is: Slow down.

Aside from the interim leader, the remaining issues should be slowed down so that people can absorb them, chew over them and then make rational choices later on.

In keeping with this idea of slowing down, I think a leadership convention should be put off till at least till 2012, maybe even 2013. The next federal election is October 19, 2015. Unless Harper decides to call a snap election before that date (and nothing really prevents him from doing so if he is prepared to take heat for it and he didn't the last time he did) then the Liberals have time to pay some debts and wait till after some provincial elections have past in Ontario and Manitoba.

The Liberal constitution says that a leadership convention must be held five months after a leader resigns and when an interim leader is announced. That would be in September give or take if the decision was made this coming week. I have no idea if there is provisions within the constitution to make a change. It would appear that national directors will have to assess if there is any room to move in this area.

I think they must if they don't want candidates to simply not stand due to lack of finances.

****

Aside from the two things mentioned above, the Liberals over the next four years have to work strongly on these items.

1. Party head office. The election results, change in leader and smaller budget means leaner. Find some good people to work and volunteer. It may be worthwhile to set up a non-governmental organization that has no financing restrictions to be the brain trust of the party on provincial and federal Liberal matters. It could be where party polling is done, policy research and establishing future leaders. It would be arm's length from the party.

2. Policy Convention. The last two Liberal election campaign books have been fought on policies that don't seem to come from the members. While there were some good ideas there in the campaign, they obviously were not enough to win an election.

3. Fundraising. It has to be a priority. There was some progress under Rocco Rossi but that momentum seems to be lost. As mentioned, I think some major functions should be shunted to an NGO think tank.

More ideas to come...

Election Prediction

2011-05-02T18:16:00.003-05:00

I think vote splitting will be the rule of the day.

Here is my prediction:

Conservative: 176 seats
NDP: 85 seats
Liberal: 32 seats
Bloc: 13 seats
Green: 1 seat
Independent: 1 seat

Of course, the polling has been somewhat mystifying in its range. It really is hard to hard to sense how Quebec will go but the Bloc is under lots of pressure as are the Liberals.

Both parties might not survive.

Why I am a Liberal

2011-04-29T08:43:00.006-05:00

Why am I a Liberal?

Well, I've always been a centrist at heart.

I am someone who has always found the value of both right and left sides of the spectrum. On some matters, mostly on the fiscal side, I have found the prudent course is conservatism. On matters of most social side of things, I have found liberalism to be the best course of action.

Even before thinking about the party system, I identify with the ability to build a private life where you live and work largely free of interference. This doesn't mean the absence of government but a government committed to the idea that you should get out of the way where and when the citizenry can do it themselves. As a Liberal, I believe government is there to keep the peace, provide order and good government.

The Constitutional principles of peace, order and good government appeal to me in a greater way than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And the reason for that is that is that is if you have the first, the second is more likely to happen.

I believe in business as well as a labour. It isn't an either/or situation. I don't hold to the view that the balance should be tilted in favour of one side over the other as a matter of course.

I believe in justice and rehabilitation. I wants laws that help people settle disputes, protect the vulnerable and incarcerate those that would violate our lives through harm. However, it serves no one's interests if there is no way back from falling afoul of the law. I am an advocate for prevention. This comes from police, public and private social assistance and health initiatives. Imagine if crime could be cut if we just reduced fetal alcohol exposure.

I believe in public health. I believe in private health. This is not two tier. It is the reality of life. For the most part, we maintain our own healthy lifestyles. We do this by being active, having rewarding relationships, eating well, finding meaningful work and resting. We have health plans through work or that we buy independently for pharmacy, ambulance, alternative health needs, dental and vision care. We rely on public health for general medicine and specialized care.

As a Liberal, I think the balance is needed between the private and public to address the real needs of the people. Every person should have access to healthcare and I believe in general, the public system provides that to more people than any other system. However, private healthcare can co-exist and must exist to provide for additional care.

I believe in the supremacy of Parliament. I think the value of the system lies in giving MPs the ability to work in a transparent and effective manner in terms of the direction of the country. I support a professional civil service. I want a strong and independent court system as well as independent public officers in regulatory or oversight positions.

I support the military and believe it should get the resources it needs and the direction it needs. Clarity of mission, rules of engagement and a lasting commitment once service is complete are essential to the peace and security of the country.

I believe in freedom of religion. The state needs to let people worship with respect. Religious adherents need to let the state operate separate from the faith. The danger of faith and state being indistinguishable is that it assumes that everyone shares a single mindthink and the interests of religion and the state are the same. Many times they aren't.

I believe in the multi-party system of parliamentary governance. Although, I have identified with and run as a Liberal, I see the merit of the other parties and often agree with them on a variety of issues.

Why am I a Liberal?

The reason quite simply is that I am a Liberal because I haven't found a way of thinking elsewhere or generally a party that suited me as well.

If my country divided into left and right, I'd still stand in the center. I find that if you have only the two choices, the pull can be away from the center either way. I've said before that if my options were limited to the two choices, I'd support neither. In short, I might not vote. Or if all else failed, would stand up myself to represent that other choice.

Why I am a Liberal?

It is because that is who I am.

IKEA Sign and Construction

2011-04-26T17:32:00.003-05:00

H & M To Open Around Polo Park

2011-04-24T20:27:00.005-05:00

They teased about it in 2009 and put up classified ads seeking employees but ultimately H&M backed away from moving into Polo Park.

Last Thursday, they tweeted that they were coming and Polo Park was mentioned again. However, there is no room at Polo Park for a store that size unless they locate into the old McNally Robinson site. The site that H&M rejected in Polo Park is now occupied by Forever 21.

This would seem to indicate that H&M is probably locating in one of the power center malls in and around Polo Park.

The arrival of H&M would be another check off a list of stores Winnipeggers have wanted for some time.

IKEA Sign Up - Opening Soon

2011-04-22T10:44:00.003-05:00

It went up sometime early Thursday morning. It says IKEA construction starting 2011, opening fall of 2012.

I will take a picture of it soon.

If you want to see where it is:

Blue Bomber Licence Plate

2011-04-21T14:29:00.002-05:00

The Bombers get a plate. Can I get one for my Winnipeg Jets as well?

The End of the Liberal Party?

2011-04-21T12:02:00.004-05:00

Three political polls have shown the NDP running first in Quebec as Bloc voters head for the exit over Duceppe indicating at further constitutional troubles.

The objective of the Conservatives under Harper according to Tom Flanagan has always been to end the Liberal party in Canada. It seems likely that this has been the desire of Layton as well.

A two party system: us versus them.

It is hard to see what the dynamic might be of a Layton surge in Quebec. It may simply result in a split of votes in the province and more victories for Harper. More perturbing for Layton is if some Liberals won more seats as a result of the split.

One thing seems clear is that some wrenching change could be about to happen.

If we do appear to be heading to a two party system, what might it look like? Well, we could look to Manitoba from 1981 to 1986 where we had some of the nastiest "us versus them" politics in the province's history. There was no Liberals at all elected in 1981.

If a centrist option ceased to exist and all that was left was a "us versus them", I would simply stop voting as I would feel I had no real choice. I suspect we might see a lot of people do that.

James Turner Metro Reporter

2011-04-19T16:53:00.002-05:00

I hadn't seen it mentioned anywhere but James Turner is a reporter for the Metro News.

The intelligence quotient of the paper increased with that addition.

Office Depot Closes Winnipeg Stores

2011-04-19T16:10:00.006-05:00

There were only none Office Depot stores in Canada. Now they are all closing including the two in Winnipeg.

There is one on Ness Avenue in the Madison Square parking lot and one on Pembina Highway.

It would appear that Staples will have the big box market to itself in Winnipeg.

The Free Press says that Office Depot had a presence since 1992 in Canada. However, the Office Depot location has been a office store since 1987. I can't recall it being anything else other than an Office Depot.

It is interesting to note that Office Depot has not outlasted Sportsman Marine which refused to be bought out and was bullied for years by security to give up their spot in the Office Depot parking lot.

Polo Park 11

2011-04-16T20:52:00.004-05:00

The incoming American stores are displacing older Canadian stores across Canada. Tabi International, a womenswear clothing chain with 76 stores across Canada is shuttering its doors. There are three stores in Manitoba. One of the stores is in Brandon and the other two are in Winnipeg at Polo Park and St. Vital Shopping Centre.

The Polo Park location is located across from Lululemon.

There have been quite a few changes at Polo Park in recent months. The changes are likely to continue and a few older Canadian brands such as the three decade old Tabi International will either have to adapt and change or close to allow the incoming Victoria Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch move in.

Did Conservatives Break Law?

2011-04-11T17:41:00.004-05:00

Auditor General Sheila Fraser

A January 13 draft of the Auditor-General's report looks to shake things up in the Leadership debates over the next two days.

In the report, Sheila Fraser looks at the spending on the G8 summit in Toronto and finds some of the spending didn't meet the sniff test and may in fact broken the law.

One thing is clear and that is Industry Minister Tony Clement's riding received $50 million in federal spending. Quite a lot of it was far away from summit activities.

The Tories are saying the report was an early draft and other drafts are less damning. However, even the Conservatives have not seen the final report and by law, they won't see it until Parliament is back in session.

Michael Ignatieff has blasted the Tories over the spending and has said they lied to Parliament and they could have broken the law. Jack Layton's NDP and the BQ have said they believe the Auditor's report should be released and Tories are agreeing with this.

It is possible that they all know that the Auditor's hands are tied on releasing the report.

One thing the Auditor felt compelled to respond to was a claim by the Tories that she approved of their spending. This proved not to be the case at all. They lifted a quote she made about the Liberals from years before. Yeesh. Stockwell Day ended up apologizing for that comment but it took a letter from Fraser to get them to retract.

The debate on Tuesday will be interesting. The Canadian Press reporter who broke the story on the Auditor's report said the Opposition has to be wary of blowing up the significance of the the story. She might be right but the spending during the G8 meeting is fair game as it seems hard to justify. It may be important to get Harper on the record what he will do if the Auditor believes the law has been broken.

Timing is everything in an election. In 2006, the RCMP announcement that they were investigating Ralph Goodale's office was a bombshell. As we later found out, the Finance Minister was not involved in any wrongdoing but it was a huge factor in the the polls in the days after.

The Tories might not be guilty of anything other than huge spending. However, the huge spending at the G8 is an issue all by itself.

Waterfront Hotel

2011-04-10T15:50:00.008-05:00

Waterfront Drive Hotel

Public Access to Hotel on Waterfront?

Boat Access on Waterfront?

A Good Fit for Waterfront Drive?

The first wave of construction on Waterfront Drive took place in 2005 shortly after the road was built. In 2011, some of the condo projects are full up and the second phases are beginning this year.

The old Alexander Docks are defied this development boom until now. A previous project fell by the wayside due to funding.

What is the difference this time with a new project for the site? Well, I guess the difference is a track record close by for getting a condo done across the street. Sunstone Resort Communities has set up a boutique hotel division to build an $11 million hotel and restaurant on the docks.

The city seems game about this project and is offering a 50 year lease for the docks.

The next step will be to get all the zoning cleared and additional information about to maintain public access to the area. The Habourmaster's building will be turned into a 100 seat restaurant and the gravel parking lot will become a three story hotel under the plan. Parking will be limited which is fine if a parkade goes up nearby, preferably in an empty lot.

It is interesting to note that no public money has been discussed thus far for the site.

It will be important as even more projects go up in the area that public access and walkways are paramount. Surface parking needs to be limited in favour of underground parking for condos and offices. Parkades should be set up for city and provincial attractions such as the museum and MTC
theatre.

I realize some people are strongly anti-car but it is unrealistic to think people in Manitoba can realistically can give them up entirely. It is better to keep increasing density to the point that people feel they don't need a car to nip off to the store, restaurant or whatever. Waterfront Drive has not quite got to that point yet. The population is going up and it will be interesting to see if some stores, restaurants and services start to follow.

The start time for this hotel is supposed to winter. Let's hope they move faster than the five years it took to get the Canad Inns Hotel and the Health Sciences Centre campus.